Despite being classified as a “nonessential” amino acid because it can be synthesized in the body, L-arginine is extremely popular with bodybuilders. In the past, arginine was touted as being the most potent amino acid for promoting growth hormone (GH) release. This was based on studies showing that intravenous infusions of 30 grams of arginine did stimulate GH release. But you cannot provide that high a dose in an oral supplement form because nausea sets in when the dose of arginine reaches about 12 grams. Since then several studies have discounted the GH effect of oral arginine, while others have confirmed that it does work. The popularity of arginine had a resurgence with the introduction of nitric oxide (NO) stimulating supplements, most of which are based on arginine. NO is a important chemical in the body that plays a major role in blood vessel dilation, blood pressure regulation, hormone release, and numerous other processes in the body. While NO supplements are very popular, similarly to the arginine/GH effect, several articles have been published discounting this NO-boosting effect of arginine. These articles point out that the NO effect of arginine has occured mainly through infusions of 18 grams or more. Yet NO supplements rarely contain more than 4 grams of arginine per dose. Based on this, the critics of supplemental arginine suggest that any beneficial effect derived from oral arginine supplements can likely be attributed to the placebo effect.
But there is no denying the important role that arginine plays in the body. For example, arginine is involved in the synthesis of creatine in the body, and this alone can boost training efficiency. Several studies have confirmed that arginine does increase training efficiency, but again, these studies featured a intravenous administration of arginine at doses ranging from 3 to 30 grams. Some studies, however, used oral doses of up to 6 grams of arginine, and showed increased upper body strength, along with reistance to fatigue during training. In the most recent study, 50 untrained college men were divided into three groups: 1) placebo;2) 1.5 grams of arginine and 300 milligrams of grape seed extract; 3) 3 grams of arginine and 300 milligrams of grape seed extract (GSE). The study lasted a month, and subjects were tested at the start and end of the study with a electromyographic procedure that measure the highest output of muscle power before fatigue sets in.
Grape seed extract offers potent antioxidant effects, and also promotes the release of NO. As such it’s highly compatible with arginine. The results of the study showed that the group ingesting 1.5 grams of arginine showed a 22.4% increase in exercise-based fatigue resistance, while those ingesting the 3 gram dose of arginine showed a 18.8% increase in fatigue resistance. Those in the placebo group showed no changes. As such, the smaller dose worked better, an effect not discussed by the study authors. They did offer an explanation for the beneficial effects of the arginine/GSE combo. The supplement was able to reduce metabolic exercise fatigue products, such as ammonia and lactate, and also likely boosted NO production. The increased NO boosted blood flow and oxygen delivery to working muscles, which would translate into decreased fatigue. One implication of this study is that the effects of ingesting oral arginine supplements are not all in the heads of those using these supplements. There may be a real effect marked by increased training efficiency.
Camic CL, et al. Effects of arginine-based supplements on the physical working capacity at the fatigue threshold. J Stengh Cond Res 2010: in press.
What supplements work and which ones are a waste of money? Find out in my book, Natural Anabolics, at www.jerrybrainum.com
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Dangerous protein drinks? by Jerry Brainum
For bodybuilders looking to add muscle and strength, cortisol is a dirty word. Cortisol, a stress-induced adrenal hormone, is classified as a ‘catabolic steroid’. Catabolic refers to the breakdown or degradation of something — in this case muscle. It may also play a role in increasing body fat and through other mechanisms is linked to excess water retention.
So it’s not surprising that bodybuilders are wary of cortisol, which has led to many misconceptions about it. For example, the lower the cortisol, the higher your levels of anabolic hormones, such as growth hormone, insulin and testosterone. True enough, those three hormones have an inverse relationship with cortisol. When cortisol is elevated, they’re often on the low side. The full truth, however, is a little more complex.
One mechanism by which anabolic steroids spur muscle growth is their ability to counteract cortisol in muscle. The steroids compete with cortisol for attachment to glucocorticoid receptor sites and tend to keep the cortisol from attaching to its receptors. When that happens, the cortisol remains inactive, which tips the balance toward anabolism rather than catabolism. The net effect is that steroid users recover far more rapidly between training sessions and get increased muscle protein synthesis, which translates into gains in muscle mass and strength.
Cortisol’s release is set off by various types of stress, including exercise, but that’s where another popular misconception about cortisol and bodybuilding comes into play. While overtraining is a form of stress that usually results in a drop in anabolic hormones and a rise in cortisol, a situation that favours muscle loss, bodybuilders often don’t understand that the exercise-induced cortisol is related to exercise intensity and to how long the workout lasts.
You hear bodybuilders warning about not doing aerobics because it “increases cortisol and causes muscle loss”. In reality, you get more cortisol release with an intense weight workout than you do with aerobics. In fact, the release of cortisol during low-intensity aerobics — based on heart rate — is negligible. Cortisol doesn’t even begin to rise with aerobic training until you pass the one-hour mark. The one exception would involve the amount of glycogen you have in your muscles and liver. If you’re following an ultralow-carb diet — less than 50 grams of carb a day — your glycogen may be on the low side. When that happens, you’ll get a more rapid release of cortisol during exercise.
One reason for that — and it’s something also usually overlooked — is that a primary function of cortisol is to provide fuel, which it does by triggering the breakdown of proteins into amino acids. The aminos are then converted in the liver to glucose. Cortisol also blocks insulin, resulting in increased blood glucose. With longer-duration exercise, cortisol even sparks the breakdown of fat for use as energy.
All that suggests that if you maintain optimal fuel stores during exercise, cortisol release will be minimised. Because the most rapidly available fuel source is carbohydrate, taking in carbs while you train is an effective way to blunt cortisol release. Studies show that getting some carbs during training works particularly well for those over 40. That’s good news, since older people release more cortisol during exercise than younger people. A drink containing no more than 8 per cent carb, sipped gradually throughout the workout, is best. Getting some carbs and protein immediately after training will also help fend off cortisol’s catabolic effects.
Cortisol: The facts
Like testosterone and estrogen, which are also steroid hormones, cortisol is produced from a base of cholesterol. It’s made in a section of the adrenal glands called the zona fasciculata of the adrenal cortex. When the body perceives stress, whether physical or mental, it’s detected in the hypothalamus (located in the brain), which has a direct connection to the nervous system.
The hypothalamus responds by secreting a hormone called corticotropin-releasing factor, which then travels to the anterior portion of the pituitary gland, where it triggers the release of adrenocorticotropic hormone in the blood. The ACTH travels to the adrenal cortex, where it sets in motion the production of cortisol.
Scientists are still squabbling about how this all happens, but we do know that only about 4 per cent of circulating cortisol is unbound, or active in body tissues.
Cortisol counts vary throughout the day, being highest early in the morning and lowest around midnight. Some studies show that training early in the morning compounds the natural exercise-induced release of cortisol.
Among the many effects of cortisol:
• As noted above, cortisol counters the activity of insulin in lowering blood glucose. Conversely, higher insulin blocks cortisol’s catabolic activity in muscle.
• Cortisol stimulates gastric acid secretion. While that would tend to make stomach ulcers worse, the main cause of ulcers isn’t stress or cortisol but a type of acid-resistant bacteria called H. pylori.
• Cortisol causes sodium retention while speeding the loss of potassium, which translates to high blood pressure, commonly associated with stress. One of the reasons that people who use high doses of anabolic steroids often retain water is that some steroids inhibit an enzyme that suppresses cortisol.
• Cortisol depresses the immune response. An excess of it dampens immune response so much that it becomes much easier to catch a bug when your cortisol is elevated — one reason overtraining is associated with more frequent illness. You can counteract exercise-induced immune suppression by taking larger amounts of the amino acid glutamine.
• Some brain researchers believe that the memory defects older people often have could be due to long-term stress, which elevates cortisol in the brain. There, cortisol selectively and gradually destroys neurons in the hippocampus, the seat of memory retention. So a big presence of cortisol considerably ages the brain, resulting in problems with memory and learning.
• Cortisol opposes the activity of anabolic hormones, including testosterone, growth hormone, insulinlike growth factor 1 — a.k.a. IGF-1 — and insulin, although, conversely, the same hormones oppose cortisol’s catabolic activity. One measure of overtraining is the ratio of testosterone to cortisol — if it tips in favour of cortisol, you’ve slipped into overtraining. Interestingly, however, one study found that cortisol actually encourages greater activity of free — that is, active — testosterone following exercise by stimulating its release from its protein binder in the blood.1 Another recent study showed that intense training increases cortisol by stimulating the enzyme that converts inactive cortisone into active cortisol.2 Yet another found that, contrary to popular belief, low-intensity exercise not only doesn’t increase cortisol but actually lowers it.3
Does having high Cortisol make you fat?
People who have Cushing’s syndrome produce excess cortisol. One symptom is excess fat in the trunk and abdomen. Others include insulin resistance, high blood pressure, increased blood fats and a greater rate of cardiovascular disease. That’s the same constellation of symptoms that comprise the metabolic syndrome.
An emerging medical hypothesis is that people who have excess body fat tend to have an overactivity of the enzyme that converts inactive cortisone into active cortisol in fat cells. Indeed, fat cells contain an abundance of the glucocorticoid receptors that interact with cortisol. Research has demonstrated that mice that had excess activity of the cortisol-activating enzyme in fat also had more body fat, along with all the symptoms of the metabolic syndrome. Conversely, mice specially bred to lack the enzyme showed protection against the metabolic syndrome, including resistance to obesity. So scientists have inferred that having higher-than-normal cortisol is the root cause of the metabolic syndrome.4 Some figure that taking drugs that inhibit the enzyme helps prevent obesity.5
The problem with the cortisol-makes-you-fat idea is that we don’t know which comes first, the obesity or the increased activity of the cortisol-activating enzyme in fat cells. Also, does stress play a role in the scenario? Many people are prone to overeat during high-stress conditions, and that may amplify the negative effects.
What we do know is that blocking the cortisol-activating enzyme in fat cells reduces the formation of new fat cells, improves insulin sensitivity, increases fat burning in the liver and fat cells and tends to redistribute fat away from the dangerous central portion of the body to more benign peripheral regions. A recent study found that the loquat, a fruit indigenous to China, contains elements that effectively block the activity of the cortisol-activating enzyme in fat cells.6
While some of the theories about cortisol are controversial, no one disputes its catabolic effects on muscle. Diseases that are characterized by high cortisol always result in muscle wasting. Cortisol is known to selectively cause atrophy, or shrinkage, of the fast-twitch, or type 2, muscle fibres, which are most amenable to muscular growth with training. In contrast, cortisol doesn’t appear to affect the slow-twitch, or type 1, muscle fibres, the so-called endurance fibres. Why that’s so isn’t known. Cortisol increases the rate of muscle breakdown while decreasing muscle-protein-synthesis reactions, and its catabolic effects are more potent in older people. Animal-based studies show that cortisol triggers increased protein breakdown in adult rats, but in aged animals it depresses protein synthesis.
Cortisol unleashes its catabolic properties in muscle in various ways. First, it inhibits the transport of amino acids into muscle, interfering with protein synthesis — the opposite of what insulin does. Cortisol also inhibits the activity of anabolic hormones involved in muscle protein synthesis, including insulin, IGF-1, testosterone and growth hormone, and it blocks the effects of amino acids in that process, particularly the potent branched-chain aminos. Research also shows that cortisol causes muscle atrophy by slowing the production of myogenin, a substance involved in muscle repair and growth.
In addition, cortisol triggers the activity of major muscle cellular breakdown systems — systems that particularly affect contractile proteins linked to added muscle growth and strength. It does that by increasing the expression of certain genes. It blocks muscle protein synthesis directly by inhibiting a muscle-protein-synthesis pathway called mTOR, and it blocks muscle amino acid uptake by depressing a substance called ATF-4 — although insulin can block that effect.
Finally, cortisol encourages the release of myostatin, a protein that blocks muscle growth. That’s thought to be one of its primary catabolic mechanisms in muscle.
Preventing cortisol-induced muscle loss
Some molecular compounds are known to affect what cortisol does in muscle. Here’s a sample, for both good and ill:
• Anabolic hormones, including growth hormone, insulin-like growth hormone 1, testosterone and anabolic steroids. Using large doses of anabolic steroids, however, may bring on a cortisol rebound when steroid use ceases. That can lead to a rapid loss of muscle.
• Branched-chain amino acids. As noted above, the BCAAs are the most potent amino acids when it comes to stimulating muscle protein synthesis, and leucine is the most powerful of them all at it. In fact, when cortisol tips the balance in favour of muscle breakdown, it’s mainly the BCAAs that are affected. While you might expect that supplementing with extra BCAAs would counter the catabolic effects of cortisol, cortisol in fact overrides the BCAAs and can hinder muscle protein synthesis.
• Glutamine. Several studies have shown that the amino acid glutamine opposes cortisol’s catabolic activity. Hospital patients in extreme catabolic states — for example, those who have severe burns — have experienced increased muscle protein synthesis when given high doses of glutamine. Recent studies show that glutamine helps prevent the cortisol-induced release of myostatin in muscle.
• Taurine. Test-tube studies show that the amino acid taurine prevents muscle cell atrophy caused by high cortisol. It remains to be seen, however, whether taurine can replicate that effect in an intact human body.
• Creatine. Creatine exerts anti-catabolic effects by increasing local production of IGF-1 in muscle and also encourages muscle protein synthesis. Recent studies also show that it helps block myostatin in muscle.
• Clenbuterol. Clenbuterol is a drug used to prevent asthma, but animal-based studies show that in large doses it appears to stimulate muscle growth. In muscle, -clenbuterol increases IGF-1 production and lowers myostatin, but those effects are induced only by high doses. In humans, the doses required to produce a true anticatabolic effect will also adversely affect cardiovascular function.
• Magnesium. The mineral lowers serum cortisol after aerobic, but not resistance, exercise.
• Omega-3 fatty acids. Found in fatty fish, they lower elevated cortisol levels caused by mental stress.
• Music. Listening to what’s perceived as pleasant music can lower cortisol, while listening to music perceived as jarring produces the opposite effect.
• Phosphatidylserine. PS was shown to lower cortisol by 39 per cent after training when subjects took 600 milligrams daily. It’s thought to work by blunting the release of ACTH from the pituitary gland.
• Vitamin C. The antioxidant slightly lowers cortisol, as does drinking black tea.
• Caffeine. The stimulant raises cortisol counts, as does sleep deprivation.
• Birth control pills. Some types increase cortisol in women who lift weights.
• Driving long distances in heavy traffic increases cortisol; laughing lowers it.
• Phlebodium decumanum. This fern extract was shown in a study of young men to block the increase in cortisol produced during exercise. Taking it with PS would be a great combination.
Closing in on cortisol
Finally, keep in mind that besides maintaining vital energy production, cortisol has potent anti-inflammatory effects. Cortisol-based drugs are prescribed primarily for their rapid anti-inflammatory attributes, which makes them useful for treating such diseases as asthma. Inflammation is a by-product of intense exercise, and without cortisol the pain associated with intense-exercise inflammation would be unbearable.
The major goal with cortisol is to keep it under control and in balance with the anabolic hormones so that your body favours anabolic over catabolic effects in muscle. Not having any cortisol release is not only detrimental but potentially life threatening if you’re exposed to something that causes shock. Without cortisol you’d quickly die.
References
1 Brownlee, K.K., et al. (2005). Relationship between circulating cortisol and testosterone: influence of physical exercise. J Sports Sci Med. 4:76-83.
2 Dovlo, A., et al. (2010). Intense physical exercise increases systemic 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 activity in healthy adult subjects. Eur J Appl Physiol. 108(4):681-7.
3 Hill, E.E., et al. (2008). Exercise and circulating cortisol levels: the intensity threshold effect. J Endocrinol Investig. 7:587-91.
4 Walker, B.R. (2006). Cortisol — cause and cure for the metabolic syndrome? Diabet Med. 23:1281-1288.
5 Morton, N.M. (2010). Obesity and corticosteroids: 11B-hydroxysteroid type-1 as a cause and therapuetic target in metabolic disease. Mole Cell Endocrinol. 316(2):154-164. .
6 Rollinger, J.M., et al. (2010). 11 b-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 inhibiting constituents from Eriobotrya japonica revealed by bioactivity-guided isolation and computational approaches. Bioorg Medcin Chemistry. 18(4):1507-1515.
7 Gonzalezjurado, J.A., et al. (2008). Effects of the consumption of Phlebodium decumanum on plasma cortisol and testosterone levels in subjects participating in an exercise program. Rev Med Chil. 4:497-503.
So it’s not surprising that bodybuilders are wary of cortisol, which has led to many misconceptions about it. For example, the lower the cortisol, the higher your levels of anabolic hormones, such as growth hormone, insulin and testosterone. True enough, those three hormones have an inverse relationship with cortisol. When cortisol is elevated, they’re often on the low side. The full truth, however, is a little more complex.
One mechanism by which anabolic steroids spur muscle growth is their ability to counteract cortisol in muscle. The steroids compete with cortisol for attachment to glucocorticoid receptor sites and tend to keep the cortisol from attaching to its receptors. When that happens, the cortisol remains inactive, which tips the balance toward anabolism rather than catabolism. The net effect is that steroid users recover far more rapidly between training sessions and get increased muscle protein synthesis, which translates into gains in muscle mass and strength.
Cortisol’s release is set off by various types of stress, including exercise, but that’s where another popular misconception about cortisol and bodybuilding comes into play. While overtraining is a form of stress that usually results in a drop in anabolic hormones and a rise in cortisol, a situation that favours muscle loss, bodybuilders often don’t understand that the exercise-induced cortisol is related to exercise intensity and to how long the workout lasts.
You hear bodybuilders warning about not doing aerobics because it “increases cortisol and causes muscle loss”. In reality, you get more cortisol release with an intense weight workout than you do with aerobics. In fact, the release of cortisol during low-intensity aerobics — based on heart rate — is negligible. Cortisol doesn’t even begin to rise with aerobic training until you pass the one-hour mark. The one exception would involve the amount of glycogen you have in your muscles and liver. If you’re following an ultralow-carb diet — less than 50 grams of carb a day — your glycogen may be on the low side. When that happens, you’ll get a more rapid release of cortisol during exercise.
One reason for that — and it’s something also usually overlooked — is that a primary function of cortisol is to provide fuel, which it does by triggering the breakdown of proteins into amino acids. The aminos are then converted in the liver to glucose. Cortisol also blocks insulin, resulting in increased blood glucose. With longer-duration exercise, cortisol even sparks the breakdown of fat for use as energy.
All that suggests that if you maintain optimal fuel stores during exercise, cortisol release will be minimised. Because the most rapidly available fuel source is carbohydrate, taking in carbs while you train is an effective way to blunt cortisol release. Studies show that getting some carbs during training works particularly well for those over 40. That’s good news, since older people release more cortisol during exercise than younger people. A drink containing no more than 8 per cent carb, sipped gradually throughout the workout, is best. Getting some carbs and protein immediately after training will also help fend off cortisol’s catabolic effects.
Cortisol: The facts
Like testosterone and estrogen, which are also steroid hormones, cortisol is produced from a base of cholesterol. It’s made in a section of the adrenal glands called the zona fasciculata of the adrenal cortex. When the body perceives stress, whether physical or mental, it’s detected in the hypothalamus (located in the brain), which has a direct connection to the nervous system.
The hypothalamus responds by secreting a hormone called corticotropin-releasing factor, which then travels to the anterior portion of the pituitary gland, where it triggers the release of adrenocorticotropic hormone in the blood. The ACTH travels to the adrenal cortex, where it sets in motion the production of cortisol.
Scientists are still squabbling about how this all happens, but we do know that only about 4 per cent of circulating cortisol is unbound, or active in body tissues.
Cortisol counts vary throughout the day, being highest early in the morning and lowest around midnight. Some studies show that training early in the morning compounds the natural exercise-induced release of cortisol.
Among the many effects of cortisol:
• As noted above, cortisol counters the activity of insulin in lowering blood glucose. Conversely, higher insulin blocks cortisol’s catabolic activity in muscle.
• Cortisol stimulates gastric acid secretion. While that would tend to make stomach ulcers worse, the main cause of ulcers isn’t stress or cortisol but a type of acid-resistant bacteria called H. pylori.
• Cortisol causes sodium retention while speeding the loss of potassium, which translates to high blood pressure, commonly associated with stress. One of the reasons that people who use high doses of anabolic steroids often retain water is that some steroids inhibit an enzyme that suppresses cortisol.
• Cortisol depresses the immune response. An excess of it dampens immune response so much that it becomes much easier to catch a bug when your cortisol is elevated — one reason overtraining is associated with more frequent illness. You can counteract exercise-induced immune suppression by taking larger amounts of the amino acid glutamine.
• Some brain researchers believe that the memory defects older people often have could be due to long-term stress, which elevates cortisol in the brain. There, cortisol selectively and gradually destroys neurons in the hippocampus, the seat of memory retention. So a big presence of cortisol considerably ages the brain, resulting in problems with memory and learning.
• Cortisol opposes the activity of anabolic hormones, including testosterone, growth hormone, insulinlike growth factor 1 — a.k.a. IGF-1 — and insulin, although, conversely, the same hormones oppose cortisol’s catabolic activity. One measure of overtraining is the ratio of testosterone to cortisol — if it tips in favour of cortisol, you’ve slipped into overtraining. Interestingly, however, one study found that cortisol actually encourages greater activity of free — that is, active — testosterone following exercise by stimulating its release from its protein binder in the blood.1 Another recent study showed that intense training increases cortisol by stimulating the enzyme that converts inactive cortisone into active cortisol.2 Yet another found that, contrary to popular belief, low-intensity exercise not only doesn’t increase cortisol but actually lowers it.3
Does having high Cortisol make you fat?
People who have Cushing’s syndrome produce excess cortisol. One symptom is excess fat in the trunk and abdomen. Others include insulin resistance, high blood pressure, increased blood fats and a greater rate of cardiovascular disease. That’s the same constellation of symptoms that comprise the metabolic syndrome.
An emerging medical hypothesis is that people who have excess body fat tend to have an overactivity of the enzyme that converts inactive cortisone into active cortisol in fat cells. Indeed, fat cells contain an abundance of the glucocorticoid receptors that interact with cortisol. Research has demonstrated that mice that had excess activity of the cortisol-activating enzyme in fat also had more body fat, along with all the symptoms of the metabolic syndrome. Conversely, mice specially bred to lack the enzyme showed protection against the metabolic syndrome, including resistance to obesity. So scientists have inferred that having higher-than-normal cortisol is the root cause of the metabolic syndrome.4 Some figure that taking drugs that inhibit the enzyme helps prevent obesity.5
The problem with the cortisol-makes-you-fat idea is that we don’t know which comes first, the obesity or the increased activity of the cortisol-activating enzyme in fat cells. Also, does stress play a role in the scenario? Many people are prone to overeat during high-stress conditions, and that may amplify the negative effects.
What we do know is that blocking the cortisol-activating enzyme in fat cells reduces the formation of new fat cells, improves insulin sensitivity, increases fat burning in the liver and fat cells and tends to redistribute fat away from the dangerous central portion of the body to more benign peripheral regions. A recent study found that the loquat, a fruit indigenous to China, contains elements that effectively block the activity of the cortisol-activating enzyme in fat cells.6
While some of the theories about cortisol are controversial, no one disputes its catabolic effects on muscle. Diseases that are characterized by high cortisol always result in muscle wasting. Cortisol is known to selectively cause atrophy, or shrinkage, of the fast-twitch, or type 2, muscle fibres, which are most amenable to muscular growth with training. In contrast, cortisol doesn’t appear to affect the slow-twitch, or type 1, muscle fibres, the so-called endurance fibres. Why that’s so isn’t known. Cortisol increases the rate of muscle breakdown while decreasing muscle-protein-synthesis reactions, and its catabolic effects are more potent in older people. Animal-based studies show that cortisol triggers increased protein breakdown in adult rats, but in aged animals it depresses protein synthesis.
Cortisol unleashes its catabolic properties in muscle in various ways. First, it inhibits the transport of amino acids into muscle, interfering with protein synthesis — the opposite of what insulin does. Cortisol also inhibits the activity of anabolic hormones involved in muscle protein synthesis, including insulin, IGF-1, testosterone and growth hormone, and it blocks the effects of amino acids in that process, particularly the potent branched-chain aminos. Research also shows that cortisol causes muscle atrophy by slowing the production of myogenin, a substance involved in muscle repair and growth.
In addition, cortisol triggers the activity of major muscle cellular breakdown systems — systems that particularly affect contractile proteins linked to added muscle growth and strength. It does that by increasing the expression of certain genes. It blocks muscle protein synthesis directly by inhibiting a muscle-protein-synthesis pathway called mTOR, and it blocks muscle amino acid uptake by depressing a substance called ATF-4 — although insulin can block that effect.
Finally, cortisol encourages the release of myostatin, a protein that blocks muscle growth. That’s thought to be one of its primary catabolic mechanisms in muscle.
Preventing cortisol-induced muscle loss
Some molecular compounds are known to affect what cortisol does in muscle. Here’s a sample, for both good and ill:
• Anabolic hormones, including growth hormone, insulin-like growth hormone 1, testosterone and anabolic steroids. Using large doses of anabolic steroids, however, may bring on a cortisol rebound when steroid use ceases. That can lead to a rapid loss of muscle.
• Branched-chain amino acids. As noted above, the BCAAs are the most potent amino acids when it comes to stimulating muscle protein synthesis, and leucine is the most powerful of them all at it. In fact, when cortisol tips the balance in favour of muscle breakdown, it’s mainly the BCAAs that are affected. While you might expect that supplementing with extra BCAAs would counter the catabolic effects of cortisol, cortisol in fact overrides the BCAAs and can hinder muscle protein synthesis.
• Glutamine. Several studies have shown that the amino acid glutamine opposes cortisol’s catabolic activity. Hospital patients in extreme catabolic states — for example, those who have severe burns — have experienced increased muscle protein synthesis when given high doses of glutamine. Recent studies show that glutamine helps prevent the cortisol-induced release of myostatin in muscle.
• Taurine. Test-tube studies show that the amino acid taurine prevents muscle cell atrophy caused by high cortisol. It remains to be seen, however, whether taurine can replicate that effect in an intact human body.
• Creatine. Creatine exerts anti-catabolic effects by increasing local production of IGF-1 in muscle and also encourages muscle protein synthesis. Recent studies also show that it helps block myostatin in muscle.
• Clenbuterol. Clenbuterol is a drug used to prevent asthma, but animal-based studies show that in large doses it appears to stimulate muscle growth. In muscle, -clenbuterol increases IGF-1 production and lowers myostatin, but those effects are induced only by high doses. In humans, the doses required to produce a true anticatabolic effect will also adversely affect cardiovascular function.
• Magnesium. The mineral lowers serum cortisol after aerobic, but not resistance, exercise.
• Omega-3 fatty acids. Found in fatty fish, they lower elevated cortisol levels caused by mental stress.
• Music. Listening to what’s perceived as pleasant music can lower cortisol, while listening to music perceived as jarring produces the opposite effect.
• Phosphatidylserine. PS was shown to lower cortisol by 39 per cent after training when subjects took 600 milligrams daily. It’s thought to work by blunting the release of ACTH from the pituitary gland.
• Vitamin C. The antioxidant slightly lowers cortisol, as does drinking black tea.
• Caffeine. The stimulant raises cortisol counts, as does sleep deprivation.
• Birth control pills. Some types increase cortisol in women who lift weights.
• Driving long distances in heavy traffic increases cortisol; laughing lowers it.
• Phlebodium decumanum. This fern extract was shown in a study of young men to block the increase in cortisol produced during exercise. Taking it with PS would be a great combination.
Closing in on cortisol
Finally, keep in mind that besides maintaining vital energy production, cortisol has potent anti-inflammatory effects. Cortisol-based drugs are prescribed primarily for their rapid anti-inflammatory attributes, which makes them useful for treating such diseases as asthma. Inflammation is a by-product of intense exercise, and without cortisol the pain associated with intense-exercise inflammation would be unbearable.
The major goal with cortisol is to keep it under control and in balance with the anabolic hormones so that your body favours anabolic over catabolic effects in muscle. Not having any cortisol release is not only detrimental but potentially life threatening if you’re exposed to something that causes shock. Without cortisol you’d quickly die.
References
1 Brownlee, K.K., et al. (2005). Relationship between circulating cortisol and testosterone: influence of physical exercise. J Sports Sci Med. 4:76-83.
2 Dovlo, A., et al. (2010). Intense physical exercise increases systemic 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 activity in healthy adult subjects. Eur J Appl Physiol. 108(4):681-7.
3 Hill, E.E., et al. (2008). Exercise and circulating cortisol levels: the intensity threshold effect. J Endocrinol Investig. 7:587-91.
4 Walker, B.R. (2006). Cortisol — cause and cure for the metabolic syndrome? Diabet Med. 23:1281-1288.
5 Morton, N.M. (2010). Obesity and corticosteroids: 11B-hydroxysteroid type-1 as a cause and therapuetic target in metabolic disease. Mole Cell Endocrinol. 316(2):154-164. .
6 Rollinger, J.M., et al. (2010). 11 b-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 inhibiting constituents from Eriobotrya japonica revealed by bioactivity-guided isolation and computational approaches. Bioorg Medcin Chemistry. 18(4):1507-1515.
7 Gonzalezjurado, J.A., et al. (2008). Effects of the consumption of Phlebodium decumanum on plasma cortisol and testosterone levels in subjects participating in an exercise program. Rev Med Chil. 4:497-503.
Want more evidence-based information on exercise science, nutrition and food supplements, fat-loss,ergogenic aids, and anti-aging research? Check out Applied Metabolics Newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com.
©,2013 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited.
Please consider joining this blog by clicking on the blue "join this site" button to the right of this blog. This will ensure that new blogs continue to be published. It costs nothing, and takes only a few seconds. Thank you.
See Jerry's book at www.jerrybrainum.com
If you’re young and fat, you’re probably deficient in testosterone
The prevalence of men lacking testosterone is far more widespread than is believed by most doctors. The usual test for measuring testosterone levels is the total testosterone blood test. The problem with this test is that it measures the level of testosterone bound to a protein called sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG). The significance of this is that the 98% of testosterone bound to this binding protein is inactive. Only the 2% not bound to SHBG can interact with steroid cell receptors. Testosterone also binds to another protein in the blood called albumin, and this bind is much looser than that of SHBG, and as such, the testosterone bound to albumin can also be considered an active form of the hormone. But the primary problem of the usual total testosterone blood test is that you can show normal levels, yet still be deficient in free testosterone, or the active form of the hormone. Conversely, you can show low total testosterone levels, yet have normal levels of free testosterone, but you won’t know this unless you’re tested for free testosterone. The question arises: why don’t doctors just measure free testosterone levels? The answer is that until recently, tests that measure free testosterone levels in the blood have been notoriously inaccurate. But there is an accurate test called the equilibrium analysis test that does accurately gauge free testosterone levels, but it is rarely ordered by most physicians, who have been taught not to trust tests that measure free testosterone levels, even though these same doctors have been taught in medical school that only free testosterone levels represent the active form of testosterone in cells.
The extent of lack of free testosterone in men is illustrated by a recently published study. The study analyzed free testosterone levels in 1,849 men, with 1,451 of them being nondiabetic and 398 being diabetic. All the men in the study were under age 45. Testosterone is thought to drop significantly past age 40 in most men. The study used the equilibrium analysis technique to measure free testosterone levels in the men. The results showed that below normal free testosterone levels were common. Specifically, 26% of the lean men, 29% of the overweight men, and 40% of the overweight diabetic men showed low free testosterone levels. Diabetic men showed the lowest levels of free testosterone. The older the subject, the lower the free testosterone level was, along with higher levels of SHBG that bind testosterone in the blood. Thus, 40% of obese nondiabetic men, and 50% of obese diabetics under age 45 show low free testosterone levels. What’s interesting about this study is that prior studies of diabetic men that measured total testosterone levels found higher than normal levels of total testosterone in the men, indicating just how inaccurate tests of total testosterone are in relation to the true picture of active or free testosterone in men.
Dhindsa S, et al. Testosterone concentrations in diabetic and nondiabetic obese men.Diabetes Care 2010;33:1186-92.
What natural supplements can raise free testosterone levels? Find out in my e-book,
Natural Anabolics,at www.jerrybrainum.com
The extent of lack of free testosterone in men is illustrated by a recently published study. The study analyzed free testosterone levels in 1,849 men, with 1,451 of them being nondiabetic and 398 being diabetic. All the men in the study were under age 45. Testosterone is thought to drop significantly past age 40 in most men. The study used the equilibrium analysis technique to measure free testosterone levels in the men. The results showed that below normal free testosterone levels were common. Specifically, 26% of the lean men, 29% of the overweight men, and 40% of the overweight diabetic men showed low free testosterone levels. Diabetic men showed the lowest levels of free testosterone. The older the subject, the lower the free testosterone level was, along with higher levels of SHBG that bind testosterone in the blood. Thus, 40% of obese nondiabetic men, and 50% of obese diabetics under age 45 show low free testosterone levels. What’s interesting about this study is that prior studies of diabetic men that measured total testosterone levels found higher than normal levels of total testosterone in the men, indicating just how inaccurate tests of total testosterone are in relation to the true picture of active or free testosterone in men.
Dhindsa S, et al. Testosterone concentrations in diabetic and nondiabetic obese men.Diabetes Care 2010;33:1186-92.
What natural supplements can raise free testosterone levels? Find out in my e-book,
Natural Anabolics,at www.jerrybrainum.com
Thicker blood and testosterone by Jerry Brainum
It’s difficult for men to be treated for low testosterone levels for a number of reasons. This is true even for men with clinically proven low testosterone levels. The reasons for the reluctance of physicians to treat low testosterone levels in men has to do with the notion that testosterone levels are related to both the onset of prostate cancer, as well as adverse cardiovascular effects. I covered in depth the misinformation concerning the relationship of testosterone to prostate cancer in a recent article in Ironman, and interested readers should refer to that article for the truth about testosterone and prostate cancer onset. In relation to cardiovascular disease, a recent article published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggested that providing testosterone therapy to older men (average age, 74) could rapidly result in adverse cardiovascular outcomes, including increased incidence of both heart attacks and strokes. I also discuss this study and the actual effects of testosterone on heart function in an upcoming edition of my Bodybuilding Pharmacology column, also in Ironman.
While the relationship between testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is specious at best, there is one effect of testosterone that could cause problems in this area. This relates to a thickening of the blood, also known as polycythemia, that can occur when testosterone is provided, particularly in injectable form. For some reason, this side effect is more likely to happen in older men, who are the prime candidates for TRT. It usually occurs when the weekly dose of injectable testosterone exceeds 150 milligrams. The effect is evident by blood tests that reveal an increased hematocrit of the blood. Hematocrit is a measure of the viscosity, or thickness of the blood. Interestingly, one of the primary side effects of blood doping, which involves drug-based increases in the red blood cell content of the blood, is polycythemia. Ironically, when this happens, any athletic edge induced by the increased red blood cell count (which results in increased oxygen delivery to muscle, and therefore, increased endurance) is negated because the blood has now become too thick, which lowers oxygen delivery to tissues, inducing a relative hypoxic (lacking oxygen) state. Testosterone causes a type of natural blood doping because it stimulates the kidneys to produce increased levels of erythropoietin (EPO), which in synthetic form, is used for athletic blood doping. Since EPO works by boosting the synthesis of new red blood cells, it would appear that the higher levels of EPO released by testosterone adminstration could account for the increased blood thickness shown by older men who use injectable forms of testosterone. This is a problem because higher hematocrit levels are linked to increased onset of strokes and heart attacks due to increased clotting activity in the blood.
But a new study found the root cause of higher hematocrit levels in men who use injectable testosterone. The study included both younger (ages 19 to 35) and older (ages 59 to 75) men. These men were provided weekly injections of testosterone enanthate (a long-acting ester of testosterone) in varying doses of 25, 50, 125,300, and 600 milligrams over a course of 20 weeks. The men’s own testosterone production was purposely supressed by providing them with a drug that blocks the secretion of gonadatrophic releasing hormone (GRH), which controls testosterone production in the body. This was done to more precisely determine the effects of the testosterone injections. The men underwent blood tests 5 times over the course of the 20-week study. The study results showed that within one week of getting the testosterone injections at higher doses, a substance called hepcidin was markedly suppressed in the men. The effect was related to the dose of testosterone, and was more likely to occur with the higher doses, above 125 milligrams a week. It also was more pronounced in the older, compared to the younger men in the study, and corresponded to a rise in hemoglobin, or the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells. The study concluded that the rise in hematocrit or blood thickness, is related to the supression of hepcidin caused by high dose injectable testosterone. This is probably the most common side effect seen when older men use higher doses of injectable testosterone.
Hepcidin is a 25-amino acid peptide that is produced in the liver. It was discovered in 2000, and is now known to be the master regulator of iron metabolism in the body. It works by directly inhibiting another protein called ferroportin, which works to transport iron out of cells that store the mineral. Ferroportin is present mainly in the cells that line the small intestine, and in immune cells called macrophages. By interfering with the actions of ferroportin, hepcidin reduces iron absorption. When larger doses of injectable testosterone block hepcidin, more iron is released and absorbed into the body. This increased iron, in turn, leads to a greater production of red blood cells, and it is that greater amount of red blood cells that results in the thicker blood or polycythemia that can occur with the testosterone injections. One unanswered question is why this effect of thicker blood with higher dose testosterone injections is more prevalent in older men. One possibility is that older men have lower iron stores than younger men, and this changes when high dose testosterone is used. But that is strictly speculation on my part. The elevated hematocrit effect can be eliminated through either using alternative forms of TRT, such as testosterone creams or gels, or by injecting doses of testosterone that are 125 milligrams or less each week.
Bachman, E, et al. Testosterone suppresses hepcidin in men: A potential mechanism for testosterone-induced erythrocytosis. J Clin Endocrin Metab 2010: in press.
Want to learn the truth about bodybuilding nutrition? Read my book, Natural Anabolics. available at jerrybrainum.com.
©,2013 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited.
Please consider joining this blog by clicking on the blue "join this site" button to the right of this blog. This will ensure that new blogs continue to be published. It costs nothing, and takes only a few seconds. Thank you.
While the relationship between testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is specious at best, there is one effect of testosterone that could cause problems in this area. This relates to a thickening of the blood, also known as polycythemia, that can occur when testosterone is provided, particularly in injectable form. For some reason, this side effect is more likely to happen in older men, who are the prime candidates for TRT. It usually occurs when the weekly dose of injectable testosterone exceeds 150 milligrams. The effect is evident by blood tests that reveal an increased hematocrit of the blood. Hematocrit is a measure of the viscosity, or thickness of the blood. Interestingly, one of the primary side effects of blood doping, which involves drug-based increases in the red blood cell content of the blood, is polycythemia. Ironically, when this happens, any athletic edge induced by the increased red blood cell count (which results in increased oxygen delivery to muscle, and therefore, increased endurance) is negated because the blood has now become too thick, which lowers oxygen delivery to tissues, inducing a relative hypoxic (lacking oxygen) state. Testosterone causes a type of natural blood doping because it stimulates the kidneys to produce increased levels of erythropoietin (EPO), which in synthetic form, is used for athletic blood doping. Since EPO works by boosting the synthesis of new red blood cells, it would appear that the higher levels of EPO released by testosterone adminstration could account for the increased blood thickness shown by older men who use injectable forms of testosterone. This is a problem because higher hematocrit levels are linked to increased onset of strokes and heart attacks due to increased clotting activity in the blood.
But a new study found the root cause of higher hematocrit levels in men who use injectable testosterone. The study included both younger (ages 19 to 35) and older (ages 59 to 75) men. These men were provided weekly injections of testosterone enanthate (a long-acting ester of testosterone) in varying doses of 25, 50, 125,300, and 600 milligrams over a course of 20 weeks. The men’s own testosterone production was purposely supressed by providing them with a drug that blocks the secretion of gonadatrophic releasing hormone (GRH), which controls testosterone production in the body. This was done to more precisely determine the effects of the testosterone injections. The men underwent blood tests 5 times over the course of the 20-week study. The study results showed that within one week of getting the testosterone injections at higher doses, a substance called hepcidin was markedly suppressed in the men. The effect was related to the dose of testosterone, and was more likely to occur with the higher doses, above 125 milligrams a week. It also was more pronounced in the older, compared to the younger men in the study, and corresponded to a rise in hemoglobin, or the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells. The study concluded that the rise in hematocrit or blood thickness, is related to the supression of hepcidin caused by high dose injectable testosterone. This is probably the most common side effect seen when older men use higher doses of injectable testosterone.
Hepcidin is a 25-amino acid peptide that is produced in the liver. It was discovered in 2000, and is now known to be the master regulator of iron metabolism in the body. It works by directly inhibiting another protein called ferroportin, which works to transport iron out of cells that store the mineral. Ferroportin is present mainly in the cells that line the small intestine, and in immune cells called macrophages. By interfering with the actions of ferroportin, hepcidin reduces iron absorption. When larger doses of injectable testosterone block hepcidin, more iron is released and absorbed into the body. This increased iron, in turn, leads to a greater production of red blood cells, and it is that greater amount of red blood cells that results in the thicker blood or polycythemia that can occur with the testosterone injections. One unanswered question is why this effect of thicker blood with higher dose testosterone injections is more prevalent in older men. One possibility is that older men have lower iron stores than younger men, and this changes when high dose testosterone is used. But that is strictly speculation on my part. The elevated hematocrit effect can be eliminated through either using alternative forms of TRT, such as testosterone creams or gels, or by injecting doses of testosterone that are 125 milligrams or less each week.
Bachman, E, et al. Testosterone suppresses hepcidin in men: A potential mechanism for testosterone-induced erythrocytosis. J Clin Endocrin Metab 2010: in press.
Want to learn the truth about bodybuilding nutrition? Read my book, Natural Anabolics. available at jerrybrainum.com.
©,2013 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited.
Please consider joining this blog by clicking on the blue "join this site" button to the right of this blog. This will ensure that new blogs continue to be published. It costs nothing, and takes only a few seconds. Thank you.
See Jerry's book at www.jerrybrainum.com
Monday, February 7, 2011
My top gym peeves
In over four decades of training at Gold’s gym in Venice, I’ve found a few things that consistently bother me. These peeves are not limited to Gold’s gym. but can and do occur in gyms that I’ve trained in all over the world. What follows are these commonly encountered annoyances in no particular order:
1) People who yap on cell phones- They usually ensure that their voice is loud enough to be heard throughout the gym. These conversations are almost never important, and could easily be discussed before or after the workout. Unless you have a pending emergency or an important business call that just can’t wait, there is no rational reason to carry around a cell phone during a workout. I’ll go even further: if you talk on a cell phone in the gym, you aren’t serious about training, and should just stay home.
2) Crowded gym-When it comes to crowded gyms, I admit that I’m antisocial. That’s the main reason why I train late at night;I don’t like dealing with large crowds. Most of these people just get into the way. Others think I go to the gym just to answer their endless questions. That’s why I try to avoid them. Years ago, at the original Gold’s gym in Venice, I approached Frank Zane to ask him a question during his workout. He told me to “make an appointment to speak with him.” Since I was his next door neighbor at the time, I was quite offended by his perceived arrogance. In the intervening 40 years or so since the incident occurred,however,I realize that Frank was completely correct, although he might have handled it with a bit more tact. Then again, he was training and dieting for a major contest at the time. We didn’t speak to each other for a few years after that, since my reaction was to challenge Frank to step out into the alley behind the gym, which he declined to do, although the look he gave me could easily have been fatal. I’m happy to say that we have been friends for years, and if you’re reading this, Frank, I’m sorry to have disturbed your workout!
3) Space invasion-this really galls me. The gym is empty, yet some jerk insists on doing his or her exercise about a foot away from me. I’ve always wondered about such people’s motivations for doing so,but have concluded that most of the time, they just don’t think about it. Related to this is stealing a machine or piece of equipment that I was using. On one occasion, I placed a reading rack with a magazine on a treadmill, then walked away to fill a water bottle, only to see a woman throw my reading rack and magazine on the ground and proceed to use the treadmill that I set up. This, despite the fact that dozens of other treadmills were available for her use. When I pointed out that I had set up the magazine rack for a reason, her response was,” You don’t own this machine.” I won’t repeat what my response was to that statement.
4) Unwanted trainers-There is one guy who insists on showing me “the right way to train.” He apparently thinks he knows all the true solutions to training, and what I’m doing is not only unproductive, but injurious–or so he says. After over 40 years of training, I kind of think I know what works best for me, thank you
5) People who don’t know how to train- These are the people who do strange exercises that seem to be made up on the spot. They obviously have not bothered to consult either a book nor any bodybuilding magazine, since it’s obvious that they have no idea of what they’re doing. The problem arises when I am doing a superset involving the use of two pieces of exercise equipment without rest. One moron protested my use of two machines, asking me.”How can you do two exercises at once?” Read about it, moron.
6) Sick people and slobs- I’ve seen people hacking and sneezing all over the place in the gym. They seem oblivious to the fact that they are spreading germs and likely infecting others. Why they are attempting to train under such pathological conditions is not clear. Arnold once told me that attempting to train when ill was a complete waste of time. Another type of disgusting behavior involves those who think the drinking fountains at the gym double as spittoons. They often clear their throats and send a deadly missile of saliva directly into the fountain, often hitting the drinking part of the fountain. They are seemingly oblivious to this uncivilized behavior, and most likely, don’t care. Others leave their empty water bottles all around the gym floor, despite the ready availability of garbage cans, often just inches away. I think they are sending the message: I was here! My response: I don’t care, go away!
7) Anti-flushers- You would be surprised how many people, mainly men, don’t flush after using the public restrooms at Gold’s. I would normally give them credit for being water conservationists, but my gut feeling is that they are just sloppy pigs, and nearsighted pigs at that, since they often miss the bowl and leave their “scent trail” on the floor. This is an example of the “Weider Flushing technique” taken too far!
8) Those who save water by not bathing- These are the true water conservationists: those who eschew bathing after training, or cleaning their putrid training clothes. I had the unfortunate experience of once using an elliptical machine next to one of these. It was one of the few times that I was inflicted with extreme nausea, to the point that I had to leave the gym. The guy smelled like a decomposed corpse that had been out in the sun for a week. Related to this are those who leave profuse amounts of their sweat on benches, despite the preponderance of paper towel dispensers throughout the gym.
9) No gas shortage here- Related to the above are those with extreme flatulence who like to “spread the wealth” around the immediate area where they train. I do have to admit,however, that such people rarely have trouble finding an available bench or machine to use, so perhaps there is some method to their madness after all.
10) Locker squatters- this is a particular problem with Gold’s gym. It involves selfish people who put their locks on public lockers, despite paying no fee to do so. After a while, there are no lockers available for legitimate use while training in the gym. When these locks are eventually removed, the lockers curiously often contain nothing. Those who place locks on them are merely “reserving” them. Idiots!
Learn to truth about anabolic supplements minus any B.S or advertising in my e-book, Natural Anabolics, at jerrybrainum.com.
1) People who yap on cell phones- They usually ensure that their voice is loud enough to be heard throughout the gym. These conversations are almost never important, and could easily be discussed before or after the workout. Unless you have a pending emergency or an important business call that just can’t wait, there is no rational reason to carry around a cell phone during a workout. I’ll go even further: if you talk on a cell phone in the gym, you aren’t serious about training, and should just stay home.
2) Crowded gym-When it comes to crowded gyms, I admit that I’m antisocial. That’s the main reason why I train late at night;I don’t like dealing with large crowds. Most of these people just get into the way. Others think I go to the gym just to answer their endless questions. That’s why I try to avoid them. Years ago, at the original Gold’s gym in Venice, I approached Frank Zane to ask him a question during his workout. He told me to “make an appointment to speak with him.” Since I was his next door neighbor at the time, I was quite offended by his perceived arrogance. In the intervening 40 years or so since the incident occurred,however,I realize that Frank was completely correct, although he might have handled it with a bit more tact. Then again, he was training and dieting for a major contest at the time. We didn’t speak to each other for a few years after that, since my reaction was to challenge Frank to step out into the alley behind the gym, which he declined to do, although the look he gave me could easily have been fatal. I’m happy to say that we have been friends for years, and if you’re reading this, Frank, I’m sorry to have disturbed your workout!
3) Space invasion-this really galls me. The gym is empty, yet some jerk insists on doing his or her exercise about a foot away from me. I’ve always wondered about such people’s motivations for doing so,but have concluded that most of the time, they just don’t think about it. Related to this is stealing a machine or piece of equipment that I was using. On one occasion, I placed a reading rack with a magazine on a treadmill, then walked away to fill a water bottle, only to see a woman throw my reading rack and magazine on the ground and proceed to use the treadmill that I set up. This, despite the fact that dozens of other treadmills were available for her use. When I pointed out that I had set up the magazine rack for a reason, her response was,” You don’t own this machine.” I won’t repeat what my response was to that statement.
4) Unwanted trainers-There is one guy who insists on showing me “the right way to train.” He apparently thinks he knows all the true solutions to training, and what I’m doing is not only unproductive, but injurious–or so he says. After over 40 years of training, I kind of think I know what works best for me, thank you
5) People who don’t know how to train- These are the people who do strange exercises that seem to be made up on the spot. They obviously have not bothered to consult either a book nor any bodybuilding magazine, since it’s obvious that they have no idea of what they’re doing. The problem arises when I am doing a superset involving the use of two pieces of exercise equipment without rest. One moron protested my use of two machines, asking me.”How can you do two exercises at once?” Read about it, moron.
6) Sick people and slobs- I’ve seen people hacking and sneezing all over the place in the gym. They seem oblivious to the fact that they are spreading germs and likely infecting others. Why they are attempting to train under such pathological conditions is not clear. Arnold once told me that attempting to train when ill was a complete waste of time. Another type of disgusting behavior involves those who think the drinking fountains at the gym double as spittoons. They often clear their throats and send a deadly missile of saliva directly into the fountain, often hitting the drinking part of the fountain. They are seemingly oblivious to this uncivilized behavior, and most likely, don’t care. Others leave their empty water bottles all around the gym floor, despite the ready availability of garbage cans, often just inches away. I think they are sending the message: I was here! My response: I don’t care, go away!
7) Anti-flushers- You would be surprised how many people, mainly men, don’t flush after using the public restrooms at Gold’s. I would normally give them credit for being water conservationists, but my gut feeling is that they are just sloppy pigs, and nearsighted pigs at that, since they often miss the bowl and leave their “scent trail” on the floor. This is an example of the “Weider Flushing technique” taken too far!
8) Those who save water by not bathing- These are the true water conservationists: those who eschew bathing after training, or cleaning their putrid training clothes. I had the unfortunate experience of once using an elliptical machine next to one of these. It was one of the few times that I was inflicted with extreme nausea, to the point that I had to leave the gym. The guy smelled like a decomposed corpse that had been out in the sun for a week. Related to this are those who leave profuse amounts of their sweat on benches, despite the preponderance of paper towel dispensers throughout the gym.
9) No gas shortage here- Related to the above are those with extreme flatulence who like to “spread the wealth” around the immediate area where they train. I do have to admit,however, that such people rarely have trouble finding an available bench or machine to use, so perhaps there is some method to their madness after all.
10) Locker squatters- this is a particular problem with Gold’s gym. It involves selfish people who put their locks on public lockers, despite paying no fee to do so. After a while, there are no lockers available for legitimate use while training in the gym. When these locks are eventually removed, the lockers curiously often contain nothing. Those who place locks on them are merely “reserving” them. Idiots!
Learn to truth about anabolic supplements minus any B.S or advertising in my e-book, Natural Anabolics, at jerrybrainum.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)