Nitric Oxide & Propionyl-L-Carnitine

Nitric oxide (NO), initially known as endothelium, is biosynthesized within the body from L-arginine and oxygen... Exciting new study shows that GPLC improved NOx levels. Looking for improved vasodilation? Read on!

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Nitric Oxide Stimulating Dietary Supplements
Introducing Glycine Propionyl-L-Carnitine (GPLC)

 What Is Nitric Oxide?

Nitric oxide (NO), initially known as endothelium derived relaxing factor (EDRF), is biosynthesized within the body from L-arginine and oxygen by a variety of nitric oxide synthase enzymes (Collier and Vallance, 1991). Nitric oxide is a gaseous chemical compound that acts as an important signaling molecule within the human body.

Nitric oxide has been shown to decrease platelet and leukocyte adhesion, as well as to decrease the proliferation of smooth muscle cells. These effects are important within blood vessels.

Recent evidence also indicates that NO may be involved in both glucose and fatty acid oxidation (Jobgen et al., 2006). Although, perhaps the most well studied effect of NO is in facilitating vasodilation (opening of blood vessels).

The endothelium (inner layer) of blood vessels is involved in NO production, which acts on vascular smooth muscle cells to promote vasodilation. For this reason alone, nitric oxide has received considerable attention over the past 20+ years from scientists. In fact, NO was recognized as "molecule of the year" by Science in 1992. Additionally, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded in 1998 to Robert Furchgott, Louis Ignarro, and Ferid Murad for their discoveries related to NO.

Over the past 5 years in particular, NO has received a great deal of attention from health and fitness enthusiasts, as well as from sports supplement companies who widely market products claiming to increase NO production. In this regard, the primary desired effect is the potential increase in blood flow.

 Exercise And Nitric Oxide:

The demands for increased blood flow with acute strenuous exercise are significant. Although several mechanisms are available to allow for optimal blood flow redistribution with acute exercise, NO indeed plays a major role.

While supplement companies market products targeted at increasing NO, it should be understood by readers that both acute and chronic exercise have been reported to increase circulating NO. This is often determined by the combined measurement of nitrate+nitrite (NOx), which are stable products of the rapidly degraded NO.

Specifically, blood concentrations of NO increase in response to strenuous single bouts of exercise (Bode-Boger et al., 1994; Clarkson et al., 1999), a finding that is evident for both dynamic (Hickner et al., 1997) as well as for isometric (Gilligan et al., 1994) exercise.

Studies involving chronic exercise training performed 3-4 days per week have also noted an increase in resting levels of NO, as measured by NOx (Edwards et al., 2004; Poveda et al., 1997; Tordi et al., 2006).

What this means is that individuals who exercise on a regular basis have an enhanced production of NO at rest, which may help explain some of the positive health and performance outcomes apparent in exercise trained compared to sedentary individuals.

Obviously, if enhancing NO is of importance, regular structured exercise should be a component of an individual's routine, regardless of the use of NO stimulating supplements.

 

Regular Structured Exercise Should Be
A Component Of An Individual's Routine.

Traditional Drugs/Dietary Supplements & Nitric Oxide

Aside from exercise, pharmaceutical agents have been used with success to induce NO biosynthesis, with the end goal of promoting vasodilation (Burgaud et al., 2003). Such agents are often used in response to various types of health problems.

In some studies, treatments have included high dosages of the NO precursor amino acid, L-arginine, which has been delivered via intravenous injection (at least in those studies demonstrating a benefit).

A simple review of those studies that do report a potential benefit of L-arginine in this regard is what constitutes the "research" performed by most supplement companies marketing NO stimulating products. Indeed, actual testing of the various products of sale using a controlled research design is, for the most part, nonexistent.

It is evident that the majority of such products contain various forms of L-arginine as the chief ingredient. Unfortunately, as discussed below, this may not be appropriate when considering all variables know to affect the response to L-arginine treatment (e.g., dosage, route of administration, species studied).

Equally important, although L-arginine is the precursor to NO biosynthesis, it has been suggested that this amino acid is not the rate limiting component (Kurz and Harrison, 1997) and that nitric oxide synthase enzymes may be most important to NO biosynthesis. Therefore, adding excess L-arginine may do little to promote increased NO production, as most individuals already have adequate L-arginine available for NO biosynthesis. What they may need is an increase in certain enzymes that appear to ultimately control NO production.

The supposed "effect" that individuals may experience when using many of the marketed products may be more dependent on the sugar contained within the product, as opposed to the L-arginine. This is because sugar intake results in aninsulin spike, and insulin itself has been shown to yield a vasodilating effect (Giugliano et al., 1997; Steinberg et al., 1994).

Despite this, it is evident that dietary supplements marketed to increase NO production are rampant within the supplement industry. In fact, a quick scan of many of the popular bodybuilding magazines indicates that in any given month there can be more than 30 pages of advertisements that focus solely on this particular class of supplements!

As with many dietary supplements, the scientific evidence for effect for these products is virtually nonexistent. Of course, some of the chief ingredients found within some of these products may have been shown to result in a measurable increase in NO or an increase in blood flow. But a careful review of the original investigations indicates that the dosing suggested by the manufacturer of the product is often FAR less than that used in the original investigation.

More importantly, the route of administration is often different. That is, many original investigations using a given ingredient have used intravenous injection and not oral intake, as is being marketed by supplement companies.

This is of particular importance, as L-arginine at an oral dosage of only 10 grams per day has been noted to have an unpleasant taste and in some cases result in [temporary side effects] (Robinson et al., 2003).

It has also been reported that oral intake of L-arginine of 20+ grams per day results in arginine absorption that is highly variable across subjects, and does not result in any significant increase in vasodilation (Adams et al., 1995; Chin-Dusting et al., 1996), unlike findings from many studies involving intravenous injection.

Other work involving direct comparisons between intravenous and oral intake of L-arginine agrees with these findings (Bode-Boger et al., 1998), indicating no effect of oral L-arginine intake on vasodilation, partly due the fact that oral L-arginine bioavailability is only ~68%.

Based on the available evidence, it seems unlikely that oral L-arginine intake will result in any improvement in blood flow. Lastly, some of the original investigations have used animals (typically rodents) as test subjects and not humans, or have involved experiments in vitro (i.e., outside of a living organism).

Generalizations to humans cannot always be made from such studies. Collectively, the fact remains that no nutritional supplements marketed to increase NO have been shown in a controlled laboratory study involving human subjects to increase blood levels of NO. That is, until recently.

Glycine Propionyl-L-Carnitine & Nitric Oxide

Glycine Propionyl-L-Carnitine (GPLC) is a USP grade dietary ingredient which consists of a molecular bonded form of propionyl-L-carnitine and one of the carnitine precursor amino acids, glycine. It is marketed as GlycoCarn® through Sigma-tau HealthScience.

Two recent studies have demonstrated an increase in blood levels of NOx with oral GPLC intake, at a daily dosage of 4.5 grams (Bloomer et al., 2007; in press). These findings agree with other recent work using PLC exclusively (Lofreddo et al., 2007) which demonstrated an increase in blood NOx in response to 6 grams per day of PLC given via intravenous infusion.

 

Two Recent Studies Have Demonstrated An Increase
In Blood Levels Of NOx With Oral GPLC Intake.

The first study to use GPLC involved previously sedentary men and women who were assigned to supervised aerobic exercise with or without treatment for eight weeks (Bloomer et al., in press).

A significant increase in resting levels of blood NOx was noted for subjects receiving GPLC compared to placebo (in a double blind design). Subjects who received GPLC were also noted as having lower levels of lipid peroxidation, a measure of free radical mediated oxidation of lipids. This is important, as increased free radical production is associated with impaired NO bioavailability.

The second study to use GPLC involved resistance trained men who were assigned to GPLC and a placebo for four weeks each, with a two week washout period between each four week phase—also using a double blind design (Bloomer et al., 2007).

At the end of each four week phase, resting blood samples were obtained, in addition to blood samples following static forearm exercise (used to induce a further increase in NO). Blood NOx was noted to be higher in response to the forearm exercise with GPLC compared to placebo, a finding that may have implications related to enhanced blood flow during acute bouts of exercise.

Need For Further Research

If a given oral dietary supplement is in fact capable of stimulating an increase in circulating NO (to date, GPLC is the only such ingredient reported in the scientific literature to do so), to observe a desired effect it must be assumed that:

1. The increase in circulating NO will cause an increase in blood flow to working skeletal muscle.
2. The increase in blood flow will be associated with an increase in oxygen and nutrient delivery.
3. The increase in oxygen and nutrient delivery will promote:
   1. An increase in work capacity during exercise.
   2. Enhanced recovery post exercise.

Study pertaining to these variables in human subjects using this class of nutritional supplements is indeed in its infancy. Continued work over the next couple of years will hopefully provide new insight into addressing these interesting and important issues.

 

The Increase In Oxygen And Nutrient Delivery
Will Promote Enhanced Recovery Post Exercise.

Practical Applications

It is well documented that NO acts in blood vessel dilation and improved blood flow. For athletes and fitness enthusiasts, this is essential because greater blood flow is associated with increased oxygen and nutrient delivery to skeletal muscle.

This may be important both during the exercise bout (to aid in performance and to improve the muscle "pump"), as well as during the recovery period (to aid in nutrient delivery to help facilitate exercise recovery). In this way, products aimed at increasing NO may prove helpful.

To date, GPLC is the only dietary ingredient reported to promote such an effect, which may be enhanced if consumed with carbohydrate rich meals, as insulin has been shown to promote vasodilation (Giugliano et al., 1997; Steinberg et al., 1994) and to enhance carnitine retention (Stephens et al., 2006; 2007), which may apply to GPLC (a novel form of carnitine).

Continued research on this ingredient will provide additional information pertaining to the potential for enhanced blood flow, and subsequent enhanced performance and recovery associated with exercise.

Kevin Levrone

Weight Trainning & Hormones

Hormones are a busy bunch. From testosterone to cortisol there is a constant battle going on which should, at the very least, be understandable to the average person. Here is some information about hormones for you the average reader.

The time has come for me to lay out in profane simplicity the importance of the body's key hormones and their role in energy, fat storage, muscle building and disease.
Plowing over stacks of research, rummaging through my muscle building memory and compiling engaging information to help you (and me) respect and understand the intricate world of hormones is no day at Pleasure Point.
The facts, biochemistry, sequences of hormonal and enzyme activity and their interplay with nutrients in the bodies of healthy and unhealthy men and women, though pertinent and logical, is confusing when presented in an article intending to be bright and inspirational. Difficulty also arises when the reader is not a pre-med student but simply a guy or gal interested in getting in shape.
Hormones, vast in number and comprising an intricately interconnected system, are considered by scientists to be the body's most powerful biological agents, regulating almost entirely the chemical activities of the body. Their handiwork is reflected in the storage and distribution of excess bodyfat, the density and strength of muscle, levels of energy and sex drive and the symptoms of aging.
The foods we ingest are immediately attended by these amazing workers and they can serve us both positively and negatively. We can at some point and to a considerable degree control the activity of the hormones to optimize their effects on our health and longevity.

Five Hormones
The five hormones I have selected to sketch a rough profile are growth hormone, testosterone, insulin, glucagon and cortisol.
Growth Hormone
Growth hormone, produced in the pituitary gland, is particularly involved in building muscle and directing the body to burn fat. Keep in mind that any efficiency we have in building, repairing and replacing muscle is also efficiency in retarding the aging process. Growth hormone cooperates well with insulin and testosterone in the muscle-building process.
What Is The Pituitary Gland? A small oval endocrine gland attached to the base of the vertebrate brain and consisting of an anterior and a posterior lobe.
The secretions of which control the other endocrine glands and influence growth, metabolism, and maturation. Also called hypophysis, pituitary body.
This life-giving ingredient enhances immune function, inhibits early stages of arteriosclerosis and numerous symptoms of aging. It unfortunately declines in production as one gets older. Growth hormone is secreted in the early hours of deep sleep and it is positively affected by exercise.
View Top Selling Growth Hormone Products

Testosterone
Testosterone is the super hormone in men responsible, to a large degree, for his sexuality and male characteristics. It is to a much lesser degree present in women. It plays a powerful role in muscle building and fat burning and, like growth hormone, declines in production with age.
Testosterone levels fluctuate and can be increased by exercise, provided that over-training is not initiated and environmental variables are favorably controlled:
Fitness
Nutrition & eating patterns
Rest
Sleep
Emotional stress
View Top Selling Natural Testosterone Boosters .

Insulin
Insulin is the hormone secreted by the pancreas that's primary purpose is to transport blood sugar or glucose (derived primarily from carbohydrates) into the cells for energy. It also moves amino acids into the tissues for their anabolic action. Not incidentally, insulin in excess is a very potent fat storage agent, a fat builder.
Pancreas The pancreas is a glandular organ that secretes digestive enzymes and hormones. In humans, the pancreas is a yellowish organ about 7 in. (17.8 cm) long and 1.5 in. (3.8 cm) wide.
It lies beneath the stomach and is connected to the small intestine at the duodenum. Most of the pancreatic tissue consists of grapelike clusters of cells that produce a clear fluid (pancreatic juice) that flows into the duodenum through a common duct along with bile from the liver.
Any given person is more or less insulin resistant or insulin sensitive, depending on a wide variety of conditions including:
Obesity
Lack of exercise
Excessive sugar intake
Insufficient dietary fat
Emotional stress
Genetic predisposition.
Insulin resistance is fast becoming the medical problem of this day and age.
When carbohydrates are eaten excessively, insulin remains chronically high and the cells over time adapt to its presence and become resistant to its function; additional insulin is demanded to carry on its job of transporting sugar into cells for energy, thereby lowering blood sugar.
The persistent and long-term elevation of insulin and glucose in the blood stream cause havoc on the system. Impaired insulin activity inhibits sugar burning and initiates its storage as fat (adipose tissue).
Damage to arterial walls result in cardiovascular disease and insulin-resistance might very well lead to adult-onset diabetes. It is noted that insulin and growth hormone are mutually antagonistic.

Insulin & Supplements: What You Need To Know! I've talked a bit about insulin in the past. I'm going to review my previous article previously published on Bodybuilding.com before delving into some new info.[ Click here to learn more. ]

Glucagon
Glucagon is also a product and secretion of the pancreas yet is exactly opposite of insulin in its action. Glucagon converts glycogen to blood sugar and insulin converts blood sugar to glycogen. Glycogen is unused glucose stored in muscle tissue or the liver to serve as energy when necessary.
Glucagon HistoryIn the 1920s, Kimball and Murlin studied pancreatic extracts and found an additional substance with hyperglycemic properties.
Glucagon was sequenced in the late 1950s, but a more complete understanding of its role in physiology and disease was not established until the 1970s when a specific radioimmunoassay (a scientific method used to test hormone levels in the blood without the need to use a bioassay) was developed.
To simplify, if you followed the order of events of macronutrient ingestion to their active place in the blood stream you would find that, eventually, insulin stores fat and glucagon mobilizes or burns fat. This can be a positive and healthy process if care in the initial manner, quality and quantity of ingestion is observed.
Careless administrators of eating habits risk:
Chaotic blood sugar levels
Appetite cravings
Adipose development
Loss of muscle
Mood swings and energy dips often accompany over-consumption and misguided blood sugar reservoirs.

Cortisol
Where growth hormone and testosterone are hormones that promote muscle building (anabolic), life extension, well-being, immunity, resistance, energy and fat burning, cortisol is the catabolic hormone.
It destroys muscle and contributes to undesirable fat storage. It is primarily a product of stress, real and imaginary. Stress prompts its release from the adrenal cortex and floods our system 24/7.
The Adrenal Cortex The outer part of the adrenal gland, consisting of the zona glomerulosa, the zona fasciculata, and the zona reticularis and yielding various steroid hormones.
The Adrenal Gland is either one of two small, dissimilarly shaped endocrine glands, one located above each kidney, consisting of the cortex, which secretes several steroid hormones, and the medulla,which secretes epinephrine. Also called suprarenal gland.
Over-training elevates cortisol levels, lack of sound sleep facilitates its destructive action and we find it everywhere at once competing with and compromising testosterone and growth hormones' anabolic action. Nutrition, sleep, stress-buffering attitude and exercise counter the enemy.
Behold the battle.
View Top Selling Cortisol Blockers

You Tubes

Human Growth Hormone

With thousands of supplements to rave about, an entire cloaked market of potent steroids and the debate about their legalization, why on earth would anyone want to discuss Human Growth Hormone (hGH)?

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Human Growth Hormones

With thousands of supplements to rave about, an entire cloaked market of potent steroids and the debate about their legalization, why on earth would anyone want to discuss Human Growth Hormone (HGH)? Hasn't it been proven totally useless as a muscle builder?

Well, if that were true then why is every pro on the circuit injecting massive amounts of the stuff into his already crowded veins? It should be obvious that HGH is one of the most active hormones in the world today. The miracles of testosteronehave amazed the world of bodybuilding with its regular turnout of 300-pound behemoths and she-men, but GH is another story altogether.

When you take into account that hormones may hold the secret to stopping aging in its tracks and that GH is the hormone produced on the largest scale in the human body, it may be our own fountain of youth. I'm not saying that if you start injecting large amounts of an illegal substance you'll live to be 200, there is also the matter of tissue resistance, but again: every little bit helps.

GH starts to decline in the body as we grow older. After the age of 30 it declines by 25 percent every decade, so by the time you hit 60 you are operating at 25 percent of original capacity. If HGH was present in the same amount throughout our lives we'd easily live to 140, be several inches taller and a lot more muscular.

The Benefits of HGH

Growth hormone was discovered in the 1920's and was isolated in the form of somatotropin in 1956. The benefits of HGH are immense, even today new research pops up regularly that reveals new uses for it. HGH is present in the body at a rate of 500 micrograms at any time in the blood of males between the ages of 20 and 30.

It's produced by the anterior pituitary gland under the stimulation of the Hypothalamus (like LH, the testosterone precursor). The effects on our system are tremendous:

• HGH promotes and increases the synthesis of new protein tissues, such as in muscle recovery or repair. This is the way new muscle is built.
• Recent research suggests its involvement in the metabolism of body-fat and its conversion to energy sources. Tests were conducted in obese people and medical use in treating obesity was proven beyond a doubt. Pro's have used GH as a way of maintaining and increasing lean mass while dieting for years.
• It improves the sleeping pattern, makes for less unintended awakenings and betters REM-stage sleep.
• HGH produces more energy
• It may improve sexual performance
• It builds stronger bones
• Improves the quality and duration of heart and kidneys

So you can tell the benefits are not few. What's an even bigger card in the weighing of HGH against testosterone and its derivatives is that it is not androgenic, causes no aromatization and shows no side effects in limited doses. It just makes you bigger, huge even in combination with testosterone.

It is believed that we may benefit from doses up to 1 to 1.5 mg in the bloodstream. That is somewhere in the optimal range for natural GH.

How do I up my GH?

Well that's the point everyone was hoping I'd get to. The ways to improving GH concentration is by utilizing the 4 areas of bodybuilding: Training, rest, nutrition and supplementation.

"> Training:

The first way of stimulating GH release naturally is training. Working out, putting the body under extreme stress, I'm sure it's something none of you are unfamiliar with. Intense workouts, energy-consuming events and long periods of physical exhaustion are keys in releasing more Growth Hormone because these catabolic states require extra protein synthesis and in case of lack of energy, fat metabolization to make up for glycogen depletion.

This is no doubt the most potent kind of GH release as it's targeted to meet the demands of the bodybuilder. Of course I'm not telling you anything new when I'm saying you have to work out to gain muscle mass. I hope. Moreover the production of this GH is a direct reaction to a catabolic state that is not wishful to those looking for gains.

The only interesting I can tell you is this: I learned this in my first year of physiology. GH can be manipulated. The general rule of thumb when working out is never to train longer than 45 minutes because that's when GH tapers off and cortisol production sets in. But the half-life of HGH can be influenced.

If you train 40 minutes for a month and increase it by 2 minutes every month, after 10 months, you could train for an hour without inducing a catabolic state. No one has ever tested how far you can push the envelope, but is a proven fact. At this point I see no use for working out longer than an hour. Anyone using moderate to heavy intensity should be able to finish 25 sets in that time.

The highest I use at this time, being a competitor myself, is 22 sets for back. Since I'm still growing I assume that's enough. And since you have to match recovery to training intensity and vice versa, 25 or more sets would nescessitate at least 4500 to 5000 calories, maybe more. My stomach just isn't that big.

"> Rest:

75 percent of your total daily HGH output is produced while sleeping, and most of that in REM sleep. This again stresses the need for a good night's sleep, in case that hadn't quite dawned on you. Though cat naps may further your case a bit, it's unlikely that you can induce a deep enough sleep to start producing GH.

This GH, in any case, is not near as potent as the other kinds because it is produced as a response to a need for sleep protection and a need for energy repletion for the next day, not so much in response to a need for EXTRA energy. But I think everyone understands that without this amount of GH other sources of GH will not be used as efficiently. Getting at least 8-10 hours of sleep is a sacrifice everyone should consider making if you want to get big in a hurry.

Also the regularity of your sleeping pattern could promote more REM cycles and result in more hormonal output. So keeping steady hours of rest is beneficial. If you are one to stay out late on weekends it may be best to still wake up at the same time instead of sleeping in. Otherwise you may disturb your sleeping pattern.

If you are used to sleeping from 10 to 8 and in the weekend you get home at 1, sleep until 8 and add a 1-hour nap every afternoon for the next 3-days to make up for the lack of sleep. But if at all possible maintain steady hours.

"> Nutrition:

Most likely the most important section of the article, and that of the most interest to the natural bodybuilder looking to make the most of his GH. Naturally I have to ask you to take the past two paragraphs into regard before continuing here. You can't expect gains from nutrition or supplementation if your recovery is not adequately adapted.

The search for natural GH secretagogues (secrete and agogue (to teach), so literally to teach to secrete or induce the production of) begins with the most basic of nutrients. Yup you guessed it (or you read it in the previous article):amino acids. But for aminos to have a good effect you need to make sure that 15-20 percent of your diet consists of clean fats. These induce cholesterol, the storage of the base-hormone in the body that leads to the manufacture of most steroidogenic hormones.

The ultimate goal of this paragraph is to give you a complete stack, with amounts, of amino acids that can synergistically produce more GH, but any of them should further the case. I'll list them in order of importance (in this instance, this is not the importance of the amino in the diet).

The doses I'm about to give you are the best range for maximizing GH in a pre-workout stack. If you have anti-aging properties in mind, smaller doses will work as well.

Arginine (5-8 g) or arginine Pyroglutamate,I hinted at this in my last article, are prime movers in the production of natural GH.

Ornithine (4-7 g) works synergistically with arginine, from which it is derived. Together they have the best impact.

Glutamine (5 g) or Glutamine Peptides preserve the use of arginine in depleted circumstances.

Glycine (3-10 g)

OKG (3 g) is very expensive, but useful

BCAA's (3-6 g) for musclebuilding properties, enhanced by GH.

GABA and Lysine in trace amounts, but since they may inhibit the other amino's, it would be best to take these at different times.

Other dietary sources of GH promoting nutrients are Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), Vitamin B3 and most anti-oxidants. Take your stack, which ever amino's it ends up consisting of, 45 minutes prior to your workout for maximal levels of Growth Hormone. On non-workout days, take your stack either before bed or in the morning, both on an empty stomach.

If you wish to learn more about specific amino acids in this stack, or others that may be of benefit to your training regimen, I refer you to the previous article about amino acids. This stack is more than adequate to boost HGH gains by 50 percent. If I hadn't convinced you of the use of protein to gain muscle, the potential amount of GH you get from maintaining protein levels should make you change your mind.

Whey protein especially, and dessicated liver are high in arginine levels. Gearing protein intake to specific goals could be a motivation to keep up the work on the nutritional end of things.

"> Supplementation:

No I'm not telling you to inject GH. Until it becomes legal and then still under a doctor's supervision, I don't suggest you use it. GH supplementation has many benefits though. It increases the protein synthesizing effect of testosterone and causes growth in muscle tissue. Unlike most steroidogenic substances it is currently undetectable in drug tests.

What's more, in small doses it exerts no side effects. In large doses it may be very harmful however.

Too much natural GH causes a condition called acromegaly. A person's muscles grow, but so do his bones, his face, his intestines. Not funny, huh? Plus the muscle you gain on GH is not functional. GH causes no gains in strength. Larger muscles naturally increases strength a little, but without training of the tendons and attachments, no strength increase is noticeable.

The enlarged intestines are what cause the bloated guts on stage in Mr. Olympia contests. Only two substances cause this bloating: IGF-1 (insulin-like Growth factor 1) and HGH. Pros swear by the stuff. It's relatively new to the market as well. For a long time the only source of GH was from cadavers.

This held a great risk of infection with BSE (Kreutzfeld-Jakob disease) a debilitating disease that leads to death in weeks and is currently a hot topic because of recent cases in the European bovine stock as a result of processing animal waste in animal food. Now it's available as somatotropin, synthethized outside the body.

So why did I bring up supplementation if it's illegal? Well how do you suppose you make an illegal drug a legal supplement? In the States there is a law that says that you can sell certain substances over the counter if they are below a certain concentration. So GH is currently being sold as a supplement, though suspended in alcohol. It is supposed to be absorbed sublingually (under the tongue) or through the nasal glands (in the nose).

It's small enough to do this and yields high rates. It can't survive the digestive process and find a way into the blood through ingestion and the only other way is to inject it, which makes it illegal again. The law is the same one that allows ephedrine in fat-loss supps and pseudo-ephedrine in cold-medicine.

The GH we are talking about here is not very effective, nor very cheap, but it pays off as a recovery supplement. I tried it once taking a few drops sublingually after every workout. I didn't gain much extra muscle, none to speak of, but I found that my muscles recovered faster, noticed a decrease in lactic acid buildup and slept better overall.

So it has its merits. The downside: a pricetag of 70 or 80 bucks for a months worth. I wouldn't regard this last paragraph as key to your supplementation regimen and take the three paragraphs prior to it, if you learn anything, but for those who had questions about legal GH, I hereby answered them.

Creatine and the Muscle Fiber Connection

In this part I will take you through a short course in the science of weight training (resistance training) as it relates to muscle fiber development and bio-energetics. Familiarizing yourself with some of these terms and concepts will help provide an understanding of the link between resistance training, nutrition, muscle fiber development and how creatine supplementation fits in.

I also want you to know some of the basic muscle physiology and biomechanics concepts, and the underlying reasons of how and why certain types of exercise will condition your body (muscles) in different ways. I will also explain to you how creatine fits in to the muscle fiber picture, and how it works at the biochemical level of muscle function.

Confusion Abounds About Resistance Training (Exercise)

Puzzlement about resistance training is still too common despite the advancements in resistance training science. It is more common to see people who are training ineffectively with weight lifting equipment, than to see people who are training correctly for specific strength and muscle building goals; seems unbelievable but true.There are a few reasons for this. First, it's human nature to want to do it yourself. So, armed with a little bit of knowledge, most people try to copy what the so-called experts are doing and make-up their own weight training program. In most cases these programs are not based on science or proven principles, or might not even be suitable for your specific goal.

I am not suggesting that you should not or could not customize your own weight training routine. By all means do so, but do your homework to make sure that you are following a program that is scientifically based, and both safe and effective to get the best results for your exercise effort and level of fitness. For example, following a resistance training program that bodybuilders follow may get you bigger muscles, but might not get you the specific type of strength development you need to be better at your sport.

Another common mistake is that people try all sorts of crazy exercise variations, which in most cases puts them at risk and leads to more exercise related injuries. They put themselves in extreme positions, attempting to shock or "isolate" the muscles in contorted ways. Don't do this.

In the end, a contorted weight training program is counterproductive and will lead to injury, and yield inefficient results. Stick to the basic resistance training exercises that are proven to work the muscle groups most effectively.

 So Many Exercises

You may have asked yourself, why are there so many different weight training programs published in books and magazines? Perhaps it is because there are so many different types of machines, free weights and exercise program possibilities. Some programs are better than others.



The good ones are based on solid exercise science. They offer clarity for the reader to help them achieve their personal goals.

As you get more advanced in your training, you will be ready to add some new exercises so reading how others have achieved their performance-fitness goals in your sport may help you to stay on target, or enable you to discover something new to try. In addition, learning about the scientific insights from research studies is also very important.

When you take a close look at the exercises, therepetitions and sets, there is an underlying similarity among effective weight training methods.

In other words, most of the best athletes are training in a similar way, the scientific way. The key to effective resistance training is to follow the best routines that will help you achieve your specific goals, within the least amount of time.

Keep mind that professional strength athletes use the same resistance training equipment as everyone else. Everybody follows the same principles of exercising different muscle groups using repetitions and sets.

Different body parts may be trained the same days or on different days. Resistance training sessions are followed by periods of rest for those muscles exercised, which is needed to give the muscles you exercised time to recover, and grow. You may be wondering if resistance training is so standardized, then why do people get such varying results.

 Past Vs. Present

When you compare the bodybuilders of past and present, or any group of strength athletes, it is interesting to note that these champions followed scientific resistance training programs "of the day" to build their massive physiques and super-human strength. Modern day resistance trainers on average are much bigger and stronger than their predecessors. Why are there such differences in the size of their physiques and strength?

Some of the extra gains you see in today's strength athletes stem from a new understanding of muscle anatomy and physiology, plus better nutrition science and sports nutrition products. We have made huge advancements in sports supplement technology, and have refined the strength and bodybuilding diet composition.

What you may find surprising is that there have been only a few advancements concerning the weight training equipment used by professional strength athletes. Free weights are still the primary instrument of choice for most of their exercises. They offer the best stimulus for muscle growth, providing a full range of motion, and usually, other muscles in the body are recruited for stability.

However, research also indicates that combining free weight exercises, with exercises performed on machines is also beneficial. Machines offer convenience, especially when having to select a workload to exercise with, and provide a means to accomplish some exercises not otherwise possible with free weights. Resistance training machines also provide additional safety for some exercises. Ultimately, the resistance training exercises you use will reflect a balance of what best suits your goals, and what is available to you.

Specific Training Yields Specific Results
Keep Your Goals In Mind

Today championship bodybuilders and strength athletes can develop massive muscles using a more diversified scientific weight training program - one that's not necessarily longer, or harder, but smarter. This is due in part to a new understanding of anatomy and physiology and how growth occurs at the microscopic and biochemical level.

With this new knowledge, resistance training programs for other athletes can be designed for stimulating the different types of muscle cells, called muscle fibers, that make up your muscles. If you want a strong, lean, slim muscular body, or a massive, lean muscular body, the secret is in how you train your muscle fibers.

 Muscle Fiber Anatomy & Physiology Is The Key To Success

You may find it interesting to know that your muscles are composed of different muscle fiber types, which in turn are programmed to respond differently depending on the type of exercise, frequency of exercise, workload/intensity, and duration of sets and exercise sessions.

One type of muscle fiber is called fast-twitch, and it has the potential to significantly increase in size and strength. Fast-twitch muscle fibers can generate explosive power, so whether it's lifting a heavy load, leaping out of the way to avoid getting hit by a car, doing heavy physical work, or being your best in strength sports, your body will do it better, if you develop more fast-twitch muscle fibers.

Another type of muscle fiber is called slow-twitch muscle fiber. Slow-twitch muscle fibers contract more slowly than fast-twitch muscle fibers do. Genetically, some people have more slow-twitch muscle fibers, while others have more fast-twitch muscle fibers. In the trained individual slow-twitch muscle fibers have the capacity to perform work for a long period of time, with light workloads.

Muscle Fiber Types Summary

Type I Muscle Fibers Also called Slow-Twitch or Slow Oxidative (SO)

Type I muscle fibers have a high oxidative metabolism capacity. They are highly fatigue resistant, with little capacity for exercise induced hypertrophy, and highly resistance to exercise induced structural damage. They are best conditioned using high repetition training with lighter weights (low intensity workloads) and slow continuous tension movements. They will increase in size with weight training, but not as much as fast twitch muscle fibers will. With progressive long duration training, slow twitch muscle fibers develop higher density of mitochondria, which increases their ability to produce energy from fatty acids and also glucose. They have a small diameter, with high capillary density and low glycogen content, when compared to fast-twitch muscle fibers. Another major difference between type I and type II muscle fibers is that type I muscle fibers have larger myoglobin content. Myoglobin stores ready to use oxygen in the muscle fibers. Type I muscle fibers are the muscle fibers that get fully developed by long distance athletes. In general glucose and free fatty acids are the major fuel sources during long distance type activities that use predominantly type I muscle fibers.

Type IIa Muscle Fibers Also called Fast-Twitch Oxidative-Glycolytic or Fast Oxidative Glycolytic (FOG)

Type IIa muscle fibers have a balance of oxidative-glycolytic metabolism capacity. They are moderately fatigue resistant, the have a good capacity for exercise induced hypertrophy (increase in the size of the muscle fiber), and moderate resistance to exercise induced structural damage. Development of Type IIa muscle fibers is important for sustained, strength stamina. They respond best to medium repetition training using moderate weight (medium intensity workloads) and fast concentric movements, but slower eccentric movements. They are medium diameter, with intermediate capillary density, and intermediate glycogen content. Type IIa muscle fibers generate most of their muscle contraction energy from glucose.

Type II b Muscle Fibers Also called Fast-Twitch Glycolytic or Fast Glycolytic (FG)

Type IIb muscle fibers have high capacity for glycolytic metabolism, low oxidative capacity, and are highly susceptible to fatigue. They can be trained to store a ready to use supply of immediate energy in the form of ATP and CP. They have great capacity for exercise induced hypertrophy and susceptibility to exercise induced damage. Well developed type IIb muscle fibers have the capacity to generate explosive strength and power. They respond best to high intensity, explosive concentric movements using heavier weights (high intensity workloads), and a slow eccentric movement. When fully developed they have the largest diameter, high glycogen content, and low capillary density. In general, creatine phosphate is the major source of energy for the first several seconds of high intensity activities, and also glucose metabolized via anaerobic glycolysis. Medium intensity and medium duration physical activity starts to depend more on aerobic energy producing pathways. Muscle glycogen is also depleted at a faster rate during high intensity training and athletics. Note: the high energy storage / producing molecules ATP and CP are collectively referred to as phosphagens.

One way long distance exercises develop your slow-twitch muscle fibers by increasing the number of fat burning machinery in the cell, called mitochondria. Distance exercise also stimulates your body to make more blood vessels in your muscles to deliver oxygen and nutrients, and remove waste products at a higher rate.




Sports such as long distance running, swimming, cycling, and walking condition slow-twitch muscle fibers, and so they are called aerobic exercises, or oxidative. The reason for this is that plenty of oxygen is needed for the slow-twitch muscle fiber cells to make energy from fats and carbohydrates, to fuel the steady pace muscle contractions, performed over time.

In fact, the longer you exercise, and the better conditioned your slow-twitch muscle fibers will be, and the more fat your body will use for energy both during exercise and during rest.

From a strength and bodybuilding development standpoint, this low intensity, long duration exercise, provides certain fitness benefits, but does not build-up much muscle mass, or maximum strength potential. In fact, it can have the opposite effects. To illustrate this, think of how a marathon runner is built when compared to a sprinter. They both run fast, but the marathon runner is conditioned to run as fast as possible for a long period of time - usually about a maximum of 12.5 miles per hour. The marathon runner has well developed slow-twitch muscle fibers, but underdeveloped fast-twitch muscle fibers. Some long distance runners actually develop bodies that make them look undernourished.

Sprinters on the other hand have trained their bodies to move as fast as possible over a very short distance--100 meters under ten seconds, for a maximum speed of about 22.5 miles per hour.

This takes explosive muscle power, and a higher output of energy per second. To develop the capacity to do this, the sprinter needs to build up fast-twitch muscle fibers, which have the capacity to get really big, and generate explosive muscle contractions, for a short period of time before fatigue sets in.

Visually sprinters are more muscular and shapely when compared to long distance athletes. And while athletes with highly developed fast-twitch muscle fibers mostly draw upon carbohydrates for energy, they are still able to maintain a low percentage of body fat because these larger muscles need more total calories per day for energy. Sprinters and other strength athletes have the timeless classic body of champions depicted in early Greek and Roman art--the body type that comes from high intensity resistance training.

The point of this excursion into muscle anatomy and physiology is to show you that your body has the ability to respond and develop differently depending on the type of exercise, frequency of exercise, intensity of exercise and duration of exercise.

For the sake of this overview, heavy intensity resistance or weight training means using heavy workloads (weights, resistance), and expending a lot of energy in a short period of time. When you exercise at heavy intensity, your duration will be limited because muscle fatigue occurs quickly from this type of physical exertion.

 
Weight Training Involves
Expending A Lot Of Energy In A Short Period Of Time

Light intensity weight or resistance training means using light workloads that can be performed for more repetitions, and longer periods of time. Medium intensity weight or resistance training means using weights somewhere in between heavy and light, with the number of repetitions per set also in the middle range.

When following a weight training program using a variety of heavy intensity, medium intensity, and light intensity work loads, you will actually be stimulating increases in strength and muscle growth in all of your muscle fibers; typically what bodybuilders do.

Where Creatine Fits In

Due to the fact that your muscles are composed of both fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle fibers, this leads to some dynamic muscle building possibilities. But the story gets even more interesting, because there are two primary types of fast-twitch fibers in your muscles. One type, called type IIb (or fast-twitch glycolytic), can be trained to grow to massive proportions and has the ability to store more immediate energy in its cellular liquid; can then be used to fuel extremely powerful muscle contractions.

This immediate energy is used up quickly under extremely heavy workloads, and fatigue sets in within a few seconds when exerting maximum effort. The other type of fast-twitch muscle fiber is called type IIa (or fast-twitch oxidative glycolytic), and is conditioned from weight training with middle intensity workloads, and for a wide range of reps, longer duration.

Preferential development of type IIb muscle fibers is important to people who are involved in sports that require extreme bursts of muscle contractions, such as competitive weightlifting, powerlifting, sprinting, football, baseball, shot put, goal keepers, and the like. Your fast-twitch muscle fibers can be developed to perform over a range of heavy to middle to light intensity workloads. The extent to which you need to develop the type IIb muscle fiber energy systems depends on your performance goals, and what energy systems are needed to be best at your activities.

When type IIb muscle fibers are exercised correctly they get quite large, and store a resting level of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and creatine phosphate (CP) (also called phosphocreatine (PCr). So, when a powerlifter attempts to squat 1000 pounds for one repetition, as ATP gets depleted, the CP is used quickly as an immediate source of biochemical energy to replenish and make more ATP very, very quickly.

This is one reason why loading up with creatine monohydrate supplements results in increased strength and longer workouts. When you load up your body with higher amounts of creatine, your muscles eventually are able to increase the amount of creatine phosphate stored in them. In the process, muscle fibers also grow larger.

Research has revealed that it is also important to keep on taking creatine supplements to maintain this higher than normal amount to keep total body creatine and creatine phosphate in your muscles. So from taking creatine supplements, during high intensity exercise and sports performance, there is more creatine phosphate to replenish ATP. Now keep in mind that these ATP - CP bioenergetics occur in a short timeframe, measured in seconds. This is why much of the research has proven that taking creatine is more beneficial to strength athletes (Type II muscle fiber athletes) than endurance athletes.

From knowing about these muscle fiber bio-energetics, it is easy to understand why sports scientists thought it would be beneficial to increase creatine level in an athlete's body. During the course of over a decade of research, additional benefits of ingesting creatine monohydrate supplements were also revealed, in addition to creatine being a strength athlete performance enhancer as originally thought.

Benefits, such as increased muscle size and lean body are what have made creatine supplements one of the most popular and useful strength and bodybuilding supplements in the world.

This ready-to-go supply of ATP and CP in your muscle fibers, much of it is in the large Type II fibers, is referred to as the immediate energy source. While it lasts only a few seconds, it is important to explode in to action, and generate tremendous force for short periods of time. Also occurring during these seconds of all out effort is the splitting of glucose in the muscle fiber's cellular fluid, to assist in the replenishment of ATP and CP.

This is the biochemical step that forms pyruvate, or lactic acid as a byproduct (as further explained below). Once this immediate energy supply of ATP and CP is depleted, the ability to generate high intensity force is reduced, and some time is required for the muscles to rest, clear out waste products, rebuild the ATP - CP, and engage in another high intensity bout of exercise or work.

As strength athletes develop their muscles, i.e., more and more type II muscle fibers, the need for creatine supplementation becomes even more important. These bigger muscle fibers require more creatine to help maintain high levels of total creatine and creatine phosphate. So, with progressive strength and muscle size development, keep taking creatine to support your progress and peak athletic performance.

Some Additional Muscle Bio-energetics Information

As the immediate energy system is getting depleted of its capacity to produce ATP, glucose molecules (glycolytic energy production - producing energy from glucose) the muscle fibers is quickly split in half, which produces more ATP for muscle contractions to continue. If all out effort is maintained, lactic acid eventually builds at a rate faster than it can be cleared away, and muscle fatigue occurs. In the process of this type of exercise, these workloads actually stimulate development of type IIb and type IIa muscle fibers. Keeping in mind that type IIa muscle fibers have the capacity to develop and perform over a range of intensities and duration due to their glycolytic and oxidative abilities. As the workloads are reduced, a moderate intensity weight training set can be performed for a longer duration of time.

All of this bioenergetics knowledge is important, because it is your underlying energy system that you are actually training to build up a capacity of your muscles to develop and to store and use energy, to accommodate different types of workloads, and eventually turn chemical energy in to mechanical energy to best suit your athletic needs. Additionally, the rapid production of energy from CP and or glucose in the type II muscle fibers occurs mostly without oxygen, which is why this type of muscular exertion is referred to anaerobic.

Slow-twitch muscle fibers metabolize glucose more slowly and completely than fast-twitch muscle fibers, and also use more fatty acids for the production of energy, in addition to glucose. This means that training and developing the slow-twitch muscle fibers will burn fat more readily. As described above, high intensity exercise uses primarily immediately available ATP, CP and glucose from muscle tissue (from glycogen stores) and glucose circulating in the blood stream as supplied from the liver.

Therefore, anaerobic exercise is not very effective in burning body fat. Studies show that by varying the amounts of anaerobic and aerobic exercise you can achieve a diversity of body composition and performance results, which is ideal for general fitness. However, competitive athletes and bodybuilders have to be more selective, and train to develop their muscles to an extreme point to achieve athletic excellence.

Aerobic and anaerobic metabolic pathways are occurring all of the time, but different energy systems will employ one system more than the other. Depending on how your body is trained to best use the different energy systems is what makes the difference. Let's look at an example.

If you were to lift a one pound weight for several minutes, the slow-twitch muscle fibers in your arm muscle would be supplying most of the energy to do this type of low intensity, long duration work.

If you chose to lift up a thirty pound dumbbell, and began to do reps, your type IIb fast-twitch muscle fibers are activated and anaerobic energy systems are called upon to generate the energy need to produce this short duration, high intensity work. Keep in mind however, that the muscle fiber activation boundaries are not perfectly segregated and that at this level of all-out muscular effort, all of your muscle fibers are at work.

The Intensity-Duration Muscle Fiber Connection

So, what does all this talk about fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle fibers have to do with you?

It opens up new possibilities to how you can use weight training to develop your body best for your sport or personal fitness goals. Let's face, it's hard pumping heavy loads of iron. But, maybe you do not need to. Very few athletes need to lift very heavy weights for a few repetitions like powerlifters and Olympic weight-lifters do. When you think about using weight training to improve your sports performance, ask your self if being able to squat 1000 pounds once would help, or being able to run a marathon will make you better at your sport? Even in power sports like football there is a balance to developing muscles that can produce powerful muscle contractions, over and over again for peak athletic performance throughout the entire game.

 The Bodybuilder

When you take a look at a professional competitive bodybuilder you see several types of athletes in one. Most bodybuilders have developed all of their muscle fibers to the maximum possible size, in particular both types of fast-twitch muscle fibers. As they get stronger, they get bigger. Even their warm-up sets contribute to building strength and muscle, in particular type IIa and type I muscle fibers.

To illustrate the magnitude of type IIb and type IIa muscle fiber development, let us take a look at some impressive statistics from the bodybuilding legends.

Strength-Stamina Potential

In an article from Muscle & Fitness magazine, Arnold Schwarzenegger was reported to be able to lift the following weights and repetitions in the bench press: 500 pounds for one rep, 405 pounds for eight reps, 315 pounds for 25 reps, and 225 pounds for 60 reps.

From a muscle fiber development standpoint Arnold's ability to lift such an impressive amount of weights for a variety of repetitions is a direct reflection of his diversified muscle fiber development. I think most people would be satisfied with being able to bench press 225 pounds for one repetition. But being able to bench press 225 pounds for 60 repetitions demonstrates the strength-stamina potential that well developed fast-twitch muscle fibers have to offer, especially type IIa muscle fibers.

Total Muscle Fiber Development

2. Bodybuilding legend, Ronnie Coleman, is reported to display similar diversified muscle fiber development and wide ranging weight lifting abilities. In fact, in one of his favorite exercises, the dumbbell lateral raise giant set, he is reported to lift (without stopping) 30 pound dumbbells for 25 reps, then 40 pounds for 15 reps, then 50 pounds for 10 reps, and 60 pounds for 8 reps.


He performs two of these giant sets, about twice a month, and produced drastic gains in shoulder muscle development. This again demonstrates how variable weight training can be used to stimulate total muscle fiber development.

Muscle Fiber Recovery and Growth

There is another side to the muscle fiber story that concerns time for recovery; muscle fiber growth and repair. When training with heavy workloads for a few repetitions to develop type IIb muscle fibers, the muscle fibers breakdown and need several days to fully recover.

When, resistance training with medium workloads, targeted at developing type IIa muscle fibers, these muscle fibers are more resistant to exercise induced damage, but still need a few days to recover. When using light workloads, for higher repetitions, less muscle damage occurs, and less rest is needed for muscle fiber recovery and repair.

In practice, when the purpose of your resistance training is for maximum muscle building, this means that it is best to alternate the intensity of your weight training sessions from workout to workout for maximum muscle building results. After a high intensity weight training day, you need to wait several days for your type IIb muscle fibers to fully recovery.

In the meantime, your muscles can endure medium and light intensity weight lifting sessions. Ideally, each training day should consist of a combination of high, medium and light resistance training intensities for different muscles.

Note however that these training-recover principles vary when applied to training for maximum sports performance, as the primary goal is not training for maximum muscle growth, but maximum sports-specific muscle performance. Even in the context of sports performance training, the application of varying high intensity training sessions with medium and low intensity training sessions is viable, as your body cannot withstand the stress of high intensity training, day after day.

In fact, Russian scientists developed a technique to determine if their athletes, especially strength athletes, were over-training and if they needed to take a medium to low intensity training day versus a high intensity training day. To do this, the scientists developed a quick test that measured the amounts of testosterone and cortisol in the saliva of the athletes. The athletes would get their saliva tested first thing in the morning. Depending on the relative levels of testosterone and cortisol, the scientists would determine what intensity level of training an athlete can handle that particular day. Generally speaking, when cortisol levels are high, this is an indication of over-training, and a medium to low intensity training day is best.

The moral to this story is that training smarter and not necessarily harder is what works best. Too often when the gains slow down, individuals start training harder, and harder, when in fact they might need to be staggering high-medium-low intensity workouts smarter, and make sure that their nutrition and sports supplement programs are adequate. Keep in mind that this approach is being applied at the level of the elite athlete, who trains sometimes several hours a day. So, medium and low intensity training days, does not mean you are not breaking a sweat, you are just not pushing yourself to the maximum limit of your performance, like you would on a high intensity training day / workout.

There are some individual dynamics concerning recovery from weight training sessions to also consider. Some people may recover quicker than others. In general, young people recovery quicker than older people, and men recovery quicker than women. So while you can follow general resistance training example programs, ultimately, as you become more advanced, you will need to fine-tune your weight training to best suit your individuality. This is why you need to keep a good training and nutrition log book; the evidence based, scientific approach.

These are just some general rules to keep in mind for muscle building and strength training. Resistance training for sports performance is a bit more complicated. Keep in mind that while advanced bodybuilders have huge muscles, this is just what they are training for. They are not training to improve their performance on the playing field to win powerlifting contests.