The problem is simple: fructoseis converted tofat in the liver. That’sreally all there is to it.Some people point tothe fact the fructose has a lowglycemic index (which it does) and that itgenerates a small insulin response, suggestingthat this makes it a good carbohydratesource for athletes. The reasonfructose has a low glycemic index is becausea large proportion of it is releasedfrom the liver as fat instead of carbohydrate.
Can you eat some fruit now and then andstill have a good physique? Sure you can.But the athetes I work with want THEBEST RESULTS POSSIBLE. Professionalbodybuilders don’t want good physiques- they want perfect physiques. Ofcourse, fruit is generally a healthy food -high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, andlow in fat. But try to think of fruit asnature’s candy, because that’s exactly whatit is. If your goal is to build a lean andmuscular physique, then you don’t wantto eat candy. Sugar and fat are natural,but that doesn’t mean they’ll make youlean and muscular.

I originally learned that fruitmakes you fat not by reviewing the biochemicalpathways of metabolism, but byactually doing nutritional experiments withreal bodybuilders. Rather than being sometheory out of a book, this is an experimentalfact. For a long time I didn’t understandit – I just knew fromour work in the gym thatcertain foods madebodybuilders get inbetter shape whileother foods madethem get fat. Theexperiment goeslike this: As abodybuilder getsclose to a contest,his body fat levelgets very low -maybe 3-5% for amale and 8-9% for afemale. At this point hisskin is paper thin (in the humanmost fat is stored just under the skin).You can see the striations of his musclesclearly through his skin. As you can imagine,any little change at this point reallyshows up. This is why I like to use competitivebodybuilders for the most demandingnutritional experiments – they are a verysensitive indicator of what works andwhat doesn’t. With the athlete in contestshape, we measure his body weight andpercent body fat every day. We weigh hisfood and calculate how many calories heis consuming, and break it down into caloriesfrom protein, carbohydrate, and fat.If his weight doesn’t change, this meanscaloric intake exactly balances caloric expenditure,so we have a direct measurementof his total daily energy expenditure.Everything is measured and controlled,and nothing is left to chance.
Okay, here’s the deal: Let’s saywe remove 300 calories worth of complexcarbohydrates from his diet in formof rice, and replace it with 300 caloriesworth of fruit. His total caloric intake remainsthe same, as does his percent ofcalories from protein, carbohydrate, andfat. His training program remains exactlythe same. The only change is the type ofcarbohydrate supplying 300 of the calories:rice has been replaced with bananas.You expect his body weight and percentbody fat to remain the same, right? Toevery one’s surprise, the bodybuilderstarts to gain fat. We let this go on for acouple of weeks and the athlete continuesto gain fat. Now we pull the bananasout of the diet and put the rice back in -i.e., go back to the original diet. Guesswhat? He loses the fat. Amazing, but true.

We’ve done countless experiments like this with just about every food imaginable.That’s how we came up with ourdiet – by finding what really works. TheParrillo Performance Nutrition Manual tellsyou which foods work to build a lean,muscular physique, and which foodsdon’t. The competitive bodybuilder is ourlaboratory. The same diet developed tohone champion bodybuilders worksequally well for anyone seeking to losefat and gain muscle. So far, no one whohas given our program a sincere efforthas said that it did not work for them.Granted, some specific parameters haveto be adjusted to optimize the program foryour individual metabolism. We tell youhow to do that too. The optimum numberof calories and the optimum ratio of proteinto carbohydrate varies among individuals.For example, some people, especiallyones who have trouble losing fat,do better with more protein and less carbohydrate.People who have suffered repeatedbouts of yo-yo dieting have lost alot of muscle mass and consequently havea slow metabolic rate. They may actuallyneed to increase calories and put on somemuscle before they have any machineryto burn fat.

Well, back to the fruit story. Whydoes it make any difference what kind offood you eat? For a given number of caloriesit seems like it shouldn’t matter whatfoods they come from. This is one of themost common mistakes people makewhen trying to lose fat. They think that ifthey reduce calories they will automaticallylose weight. This is true, but onlyfor a little while. And if you lose weightby drastically reducing calories, about 50%of the weight lost will be muscle. Whatpeople fail to realize is that the types offoods you eat is just as important as howmany calories you consume. If cuttingcalories was the answer, then those lowcalorie weight loss drinks would work,but they don’t.

The key point is that differentfoods have different chemical compositionsand therefore have different effectsinside your body. Of course, all food isfuel, but what type of fuel it is matters alot. Try putting kerosene in your car sometimeand see how it runs. For any machineto run optimally, including the humanbody, it requires the right kind of fuel.The problem with fruit is that virtually allof the calories it supplies come in the formof simple sugars. The most abundantsugar in fruit is fructose (commonlyknown as fruit sugar), although somefruits (oranges and grapes for example)also contain a lot of glucose. The problemwith fructose is that it bypasses theenzyme phosphofructokinase-I (PFK-I),the rate limiting step of glycolysis, thepathway responsible for the conversionof carbohydrate into energy (1). In otherwords fructose bypasses the control pointthat decides if a dietary sugar is going tobe stored as glycogen or fat. Complexcarbohydrates such as rice, oatmeal, andpotatoes, are preferentially stored as glycogenuntil glycogen stores are full. Fructose,on the other hand, gets directly convertedto fat in the liver, then gets whiskedoff in the bloodstream to be stored in fatcells (1).

As you know from our previousarticles about carbohydrate metabolismand thermogenesis, the dietary energy(calories) supplied by carbs is used forseveral purposes. Some of it is simply lostas heat during its digestion and metabolismin a process we know as diet-inducedthermogenesis. You can loosely think ofthis as “friction” in the metabolic pathway,and this energy loss contributes tothe generation of body heat. Most of thedietary energy is used to maintain the basalmetabolic rate (BMR) – the energy costof keeping your body alive. Some of theenergy is used to perform work, like exerciseand just tending to the activities ofdaily life. After that, any energy left isstored as glycogen in muscles and in theliver. If you consume too many caloriesfrom carbohydrate, after glycogen storesare full the rest will be convertedto fat (triglycerides) inthe liver, and transported bythe blood to fat cells (adiposetissue) for storage.

So after glycogen stores arefull, excess calories from anytype of carbohydrate can beconverted to fat. The enzymethat regulates whether dietaryenergy supplied by carbohydrateis stored as glycogen orfat is PFK-I. It shuttles carbsinto glycogen stores untilthey’re full, then it switchesthe flow of carbohydratesfrom glycogen synthesis tofat synthesis. Glycogen is thestorage form of carbohydratein animals, and theamount of glycogen you canstore is quite limited. The upperlimit is generally believedto be 250-400 grams, dependingon the amount ofskeletal muscle mass youhave. (Very massive bodybuilders may beable to store as much as 600 grams.) Thisamounts to only 1000-1600 calories – noteven enough energy to fuel your body forone day. The deal with fructose is that ittotally skips the enzyme PFK-I, which isthe regulatory step responsible for makingsure glycogen stores are full beforefat synthesis is switched on. Instead ofbeing stored as glycogen, fructose getsdirectly converted to fat by the liver. NowI think you can see why I have a problemwith recommending fruit for bodybuilders.

To get a detailed understandingof fructose metabolism we should startat the beginning. Fructose is absorbedfrom the small intestine and transportedto the liver by the portal vein. You have torealize that fructose itself is not releasedfrom the liver into the bloodstream to reachthe rest of the body. Any carbohydratesource you ingest is first converted to glucoseby the liver, and glucose (“bloodsugar”) is the carbohydrate source usedby muscles and the form of carbohydratewhich is converted into glycogen. The firstenzyme to act on fructose is fructokinase,which adds a phosphate group to thesugar to form fructose-1-phosphate(F1P). Glucose is similarly phosphorylatedat the 6 position by the enzyme hexokinase,forming G6P. All cells have hexokinase,and thus have the ability to phosphorylateglucose. This means that all cellscan metabolize glucose for energy. On theother hand, fructokinase is virtually confinedto the liver (1). So while glucose isa general substrate for all body tissues,fructose represents a carbohydrate loadtargeted for the liver (1). The next thingthat happens is F1P is split by the enzymealdolase to form glyceraldehyde (GA) anddihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP).This means that the products of fructosemetabolism enter the glycolytic pathwayat the triose phosphate level (i.e., as threecarbon sugars). Glucose, on the otherhand, is phosphorylated to yield G6P,which may proceed directly to glycogensynthesis (1). To be broken down forenergy glucose must first pass throughthe rate-limiting PFK-I step. Fructose metabolitesenter below this step, and thusbypass an important point of regulation.Fructose therefore is more prone to beconverted to fat, while glucose is moreprone to be converted to glycogen.

The biochemistry is much morecomplex than is appropriate for this article,but I have pointed out the salient featuresof the pathway to explain why glucose-based carbohydrate sources are betterthan fructose, especially for peopletrying to minimize body fat stores. Scientificstudies have proven that starch (glucosepolymer) is much more efficient atreplenishing skeletal muscle glycogenstores than fructose (2). Now you understandwhy — muscle cells don’t havethe enzyme needed to phosphorylate fructose,so its metabolism is essentially limitedto the liver.

When we were designing theParrillo Performance Bar, we surveyedevery available sports supplement bar wecould find. We found that 25 out of the26 bars had fructose in either the first orsecond ingredient. (If you use somebodyelse’s bar, go read the label.) Why? Becausecorn syrup and fruit juice (goodsources of fructose) are real cheap, andthey’re also very sweet. We pioneered theuse of a new carbohydrate source in theParrillo Bar called rice dextrin. It’s a shortchainglucose polymer made from rice.This gives you the quick energy you wantfrom a sports bar, but without the fructose.Each Bar also contains CapTri(which is legendary by now) and an ultra-high efficiency protein source.
As we discussed in an earlier article aboutcarbohydrate metabolism, complex carbohydrates(such as starch andmaltodextrin) are more effective in replenishingglycogen stores than simple sugars(3). This makes sense because complexcarbs are released into the bloodstreamslowly whereas simple sugars arereleased very rapidly, potentially overwhelmingthe glycogen synthesis pathwaysand “spilling over” into fat stores.Furthermore, the increased insulin releaseresulting from simple sugars causes moreof the sugar to be converted to fat.This is why Parrillo Performance ProCarbis based on maltodextrin instead of sugar,like most other carbohydrate supplements.Maltodextrin is a medium-chain glucosepolymer. It has been found thatmaltodextrin is 15% more efficient at restoringmuscle glycogen levels than conventionalcarbohydrate foods like rice andpasta (4). This makes ProCarb ideal forglycogen supercompensation (carb loading).Maltodextrin beverages like Pro-Carbhave also been demonstrated to increaseblood glucose levels during exercise andto increase exercise time to exhaustion(4,5).

At this point, I think I can anticipatea question from the biochemists inthe crowd. You’ve probably heard thatfructose is low on the glycemic index,which means it raises blood sugar veryslowly and elicits only a small insulin response.From your reading of our serieson endocrinology, you know that a slow,steady insulin response is good. Since insulinis a potent stimulus for fat storage,we want to keep insulin levels fairly low,so by this reasoning it seems like fructosewould be good. The problem is thatthe REASON fructose has a low glycemicindex and results in a small insulinrelease is that it is converted to fat in theliver. It doesn’t raise blood sugar verymuch because it is released from the liveras fat instead of sugar. Fructose has aMUCH greater tendency to be convertedto fat than other carbohydrate sources,so why use it? Now you understand thebiochemistry behind my controversialstance on fruit.
Now I’d like to go into a littlemore detail about carbohydrate metabolismand glycogen storage. After exerciseis completed dietary carbohydrate is directedtoward restoring muscle and liverglycogen and returning blood glucose tonormal levels. Dietary starches and sugarsare digested to simple sugars (glucoseand fructose) which are then available forglycogen formation (2). Until recently itwas believed that glycogen was made justfrom glucose extracted from the bloodby the liver and muscle, but the actualdynamics of glycogen restitution turn outto be much more complicated. In fact,glucose serves primarily to replenishmuscle glycogen stores, while the liver ismore versatile in its choice of substrates(building blocks) for glycogen synthesis.The liver is able to make glycogen fromfructose, lactate, glycerol, alanine, andother three-carbon metabolites (2). Amazingly,most glucose absorbed from the gutactually travels through the liver withoutbeing absorbed and preferentially is usedto replenish muscle glycogen stores (2).This is cutting edge stuff, folks, that youprobably won’t hear anywhere else. Idon’t know of anyone besides ParrilloPerformance who researches nutritionalbiochemistry and metabolism at this levelof molecular detail to instruct bodybuilderson exact techniques to control the flowof energy and nutrients through the metabolicpathways. Who else teaches youhow to control the metabolic pathwaysto optimize bodybuilding results?
Anyway, what happens is this: After exerciseliver and muscle glycogen (carbohydrate)stores are depleted. The liver isa very versatile metabolic engine and isable to recover its glycogen stores frommany different sources, including lactate,fructose, glucose, and amino acid metabolites.Muscle tissue, on the other hand,has a specialized function (contraction)and doesn’t have all of the various enzymesthe liver does which allow the liverto inter-convert so many different metabolicintermediates. Muscle tissue relieson glucose to recover its glycogen store,so the liver is kind enough to let the glucosepass on through so it can be deliveredto muscle. The liver makes due withother carbon compounds which muscleis unable to use. What does this mean forus bodybuilders? Think about it – the answeris right in front of you.

What this means is if you feedyour body glucose – the form of carbohydratein starch, Pro-Carb, and theParrillo Bar – the carbohydrate will be directedto your muscles and stored thereas glycogen. Dietary carbohydrate in theform of glucose will be directed to yourmuscles until muscle glycogen stores arefull. This will make your muscle full, hard,and pumped. Also, this will give you moreenergy and strength during your workouts,since muscles rely on their internalglycogen stores as fuel for anaerobic exercise.After muscle glycogen stores arefull additional glucose will be used to restoreliver glycogen. Only after bothmuscle and liver glycogen stores are fullyrepleted will further excess glucose be convertedto fat. (Studies have shown thatoverfeeding as much as a 500 gram carbohydrateload leads to practically no fatsynthesis, because the carbs are storedas glycogen.) The story with fructose isvery different, indeed. Muscle does nothave the enzymatic machinery needed toconvert fructose into glycogen, so fructoserepresents a dietary carbohydrate loadtargeted for the liver (1,2). In the liver,two things can happen with fructose.First, fructose can be absorbed by the livercells, converted to glucose, and thenstored as glycogen. Second, the fructosecan be converted to fat. You rememberwhat I said earlier about the enzyme PFKI.This is the “rate limiting” enzyme thatoperates as a switch to decide if a sugargets stored as glycogen or converted tofat. Fructose completely bypasses thisenzyme and is readily converted to fat bythe liver. This is why ordinary table sugarincreases blood triglyceride levels andmakes you fat. Table sugar is a disaccharideknown as sucrose, and is made fromone molecule of glucose connected to onemolecule of fructose. Recent thought oncarbohydrate metabolism suggests that itis the fructose portion of sucrose that isresponsible for making sweets so fattening.So a large portion of the fructosesimply gets converted directly to fatand released into the bloodstream. Bam.You get a dose of fat. But the damagedoesn’t stop there. The rest of the fructosegets converted into liver glycogen.

That sounds okay, until you stop to thinkabout it. You see, once liver glycogenstores are full the liver says, “We’ve gotall the glycogen we can hold, so any morecarbs coming in here we’ll just convertto fat.” Fructose preferentially repletesliver glycogen instead of muscle glycogen(2) and shifts the liver into fat-storingmode. This is exactly what we don’twant. We need some liver glycogen, tobe sure, because this is what keeps bloodsugar levels steady. But when liver glycogenstores are full, this is when dietarycarbs start to “spill over” into fat stores.The third problem is that fructose cannotbe used to replenish muscle glycogen, soon a high fructose diet liver glycogenstores are filled and we start convertingcarbs into fat without ever filling muscleglycogen stores. This scenario is a carbohydratenightmare. Fructose is theworst carb source for bodybuilders youcan imagine. If you wanted to design asupplement to ruin a bodybuilder’s physique,it would be a fructose-based energybar. Unfortunately, the vast majorityof the bars out there rely on fructose astheir major carb source, because it’scheap.
In summary, fructose does threethings: a large portion of it is converteddirectly to fat by the liver, it preferentiallyfills liver glycogen stores so that evengood carbs are more prone to spill overinto fat, and it cannot be used by muscleto recover glycogen. Calorie for calorie,the only nutrient that will make you fatterthan fructose is fat itself. Besides that, Idon’t have a problem with it.
Glucose then has some specialmetabolic properties that you can use toyour advantage. Exercise induces muscleto be more sensitive to the effects of insulin,so blood glucose is shuttled preferentiallyto glycogen-depleted muscle (2).Interestingly, and fortunately for the bodybuilder,high blood glucose and insulin levelsdo relatively little to stimulate hepatic(liver) glycogenesis (glycogen production).Instead, most glucose passes onthrough the liver and is extracted by skeletalmuscle. This means that if you supplyyour body with carbohydrate in theFrutose: The Ideal Carbohydrate Source For Gaining FatIn the liver, two things can happen with fructose. First,fructose can be absorbed by the liver cells, convertedto glucose, and then stored as glycogen. Second,the fructose can be converted to fat. You rememberwhat I said earlier about the enzyme PFK-I. This isthe “rate limiting” enzyme that operates as a switch todecide if a sugar gets stored as glycogen or convertedto fat. Fructose completely bypasses this enzymeand is readily converted to fat by the liver.© 1999, 1992 Parrillo Performance • Cincinnati OH 45246 • (513) 874-3305 • ORDERLINE 1-800-344-3404 185form of glucose post-exercise that thecalories will be preferentially stored asmuscle glycogen. An excellent recoverytrick is to eat a Parrillo Bar or a scoop ofPro-Carb right after your workout. Theseare essentially “free” calories which youknow will end up in muscle and not beconverted to fat. If you eat a fructosebasedsupplement bar, however, the caloriesjust stay in your liver and get convertedeither to liver glycogen or fat. Itwon’t help recover muscle glycogen.In closing I’d like to talk aboutthe kinetics (time course) of glycogen storage.Glycogen recovery following exerciseis highly dependent on the carbohydratecontent of the diet, up until 500-600grams of carbohydrate are provided.Above this intake, glycogen synthesizingpathways appear to be saturated (2). Interestingly,not only is the absolute carbohydratecontent of the diet important,but the type of dietary carbohydrate consumedis key also. A study by Costill (reviewedin reference 2) compared the relativeefficacies of simple sugars versuscomplex carbohydrates in restoringmuscle glycogen following exercise. Bothwere equally effective during the first 24hours of glycogen synthesis, but by 48hours post-exercise the complex carbsresulted in significantly better recover ofmuscle glycogen stores. Another studylooked at the effects of different carbohydratetypes on liver glycogen, and demonstratedthat fructose is more efficientthan glucose at replenishing liver glycogen.The question is, do you want yourcarbs to be stored in muscle or in yourliver?
Basically, this means if you relyon simple sugars or fructose, within 24hours your muscles will have stored asmuch glycogen as they can, and any furthercarbohydrate you consume will beconverted to fat. On the other hand if youuse starches (complex carbs made fromglucose polymers) not only can youachieve higher levels of muscle glycogenstorage, but also less of the carbs will beconverted to fat. In other words, if youstore more of your dietary carbs as muscleglycogen, less will be available for conversionto fat. Pretty neat, huh?
You know that weight lifting is an anaerobicexercise that relies on muscle glycogenas the primary fuel source. You also knowthat muscles fully loaded with glycogenare bigger, harder, and stronger. What canyou do to target dietary carbohydrate tomuscle? Use complex carbohydrates madefrom glucose polymers as your carbsource. This is the type of carbohydratefound in starchy foods (potatoes, rice,beans, oatmeal, etc.) and in the ParrilloBar and in Pro-Carb. Eat a high carbohydratediet; usually 60-70% of your caloriesshould come from complex carbs. Eata high carbohydrate meal immediately aftertraining, when muscles are glycogendepleted and are primed to store carbohydrate.A convenient way to do this is toput a Parrillo Bar in your gym bag or elsea shaker bottle with a scoop of Pro-Carbin it. This is also an ideal time to consumesome protein to provide amino acids torebuild your muscles. If you’re trying topack on a few more pounds of muscle itmay be as simple as eating a scoop ofPro-Carb plus a scoop of Hi-Protein Powderright after your workout. Do this fora month and I can virtually guaranteeyou’ll see a difference. After a workout,these calories will go straight to musclewith virtually no risk of being convertedto fat. Finally, avoid fructose. Most of thesupplement bars out there (probably 90%of them at least) use fructose, high fructosecorn syrup, or fruit juice as one oftheir main ingredients. Beware. Theseproducts are not effective in recovery ofmuscle glycogen and instead are targetedto the liver. If you’re looking for a goodway to replenish your fat stores after exercise,fructose would be an excellentchoice.
Parrillo supplements are made theway they are for a reason. We use rice dextrin in the Parrillo Bar and maltodextrinin Pro-Carb. Both are glucose polymers.Sure, high fructose corn syrup or fruitjuice concentrate would be cheaper, butwe’ve designed our supplements to be thebest, not the cheapest. Our supplementsare designed for the professional bodybuilderwhose career depends on his (orher) physique. You might be surprised thata seemingly small difference like using glucoseinstead of fructose would be important,but it can make the difference betweenwinning and losing. Now you knowhow to control the traffic of carbohydratesthrough the metabolic pathways of yourbody and direct carbs to muscle whileminimizing their conversion to fat. Youalso know when somebody starts tellingyou how wonderful their fructose bar is,you’d better put on your hip waders.

References
1. Shafrir E. Fructose/sucrose metabolism,its physiological and pathologicalimplications. Sugars and Sweeteners,Kretchmer N and Hollenbeck CB, Eds.CRC Press, 1991, pp. 63-98.2. Paige DM. Clinical Nutrition. C.V.Mosby Company, St. Louis, 1988, pp.703-704.3. Costill DL, Sherman WM, Fink WJ,Witten MW, and Miller JM. The role ofdietary carbohydrates in muscle glycogenresynthesis after strenuous running. Am.J. Clin. Nutr. 34: 1831-1836, 1981.4. Lamb DR, Snyder AC, and Baur TS.Muscle glycogen loading with a liquidcarbohydrate supplement. Int. J. SportNutr. 1: 52-60, 1991.5. Snyder AC, Lamb DR, Baur T, ConnorsD, and Brodowicz G. Maltodextrin feedingimmediately before prolonged cyclingat 62% VO2max increases time to exhaustion.Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 15: 126,1983.6. Buskirk, ER and Puhl, S. Nutritionalbeverages: exercise and sport. Nutritionin Exercise and Sport, Hickson JF andWolinsky I, Eds. CRC Press, 1989.

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#1 Multivitamins

Multivitamins fill in gaps in today’s nutrient-depleted food, and provides nutritional insurance that we’re getting the vitamins we need for great health. Parrillo Performance’s Essential Vitamin Formula™ starts with a 500 mg base of vitamin C and adds in vitamin A, B-1, B-2, B-6, and B-12, plus a jolt of folic acid, and for the Grand Finale, 5,000 iu of beta-carotene, the mightiest of antioxidants. This perfect combination of vitamins and minerals will help keep you going by supplying your body with much needed vitamin insurance. Suggested usage: One tablet with each meal.

#2 Vitamin C

With exercise, there’s a dramatic increase in the amount of oxygen used by your body. A fraction of this oxygen is converted into “free radicals.” Free radicals are unstable oxygen molecules that attack
bodily tissues. (1)

Fortunately, the body is equipped with a mighty defense team of substances known as antioxidants, which neutralize free radicals and prevent them from doing harm. Vitamin C is one of these antioxidants. It keeps free radicals from destroying the outermost layers of cells and has the power to regenerate vitamin E, another antioxidant. (2)

Normally, free radicals don’t cause much of a problem. But during strenuous activity, free radicals can start outnumbering antioxidants – a condition called “oxidative stress.” It leads to muscle tissue damage and inflammation, increases the body’s consumption of antioxidants, and leaves you vulnerable to disease. (3)

You may be able to ward off oxidative stress, however, by supplementing with vitamin C. In a recent experiment, investigators discovered that oxidative stress was highest when subjects did not supplement with vitamin C. (4)

To ensure that you get the vitamin C your body demands, supplementation with extra amounts than you get in our multivitamin is an excellent idea. Our Bio-C™ formula contains 1000 mg of vitamin C per tablet, and is formulated with health-building Citrus Bioflavonoids (concentrate from lemons, oranges, grapefruit, limes, tangerines). Take one or more tablet daily, preferably with meals

#3 Vitamin D

You’ll get sufficient levels of this important vitamin in our multivitamin, but I wanted to underline its importance separately. Inadequate levels of vitamin D increase risk for a host of conditions, including high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, cancers, arthritis, obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, and overall risk of premature death. So you definitely want this nutrient in your supplemental arsenal!

#4 Vitamin E

Vitamin E is a component of cells, sandwiched between the fatty layers that make up cell membranes. When disease-causing free radicals come along, they hitch up to vitamin E, damaging it instead of the rest of the cell membrane. In the process, vitamin E soaks up the free radicals, and the cell is protected from harm. Vitamin C and other antioxidants can regenerate vitamin E. But with a shortage of vitamin E, there is an increase in free radicals, cellular injuries, and subsequent disorders to bodily
tissues.

Vitamin E is thus an important antioxidant that saves cells from damage. Specifically, vitamin E prevents a free radical-initiated process known as “lipid peroxidation.” In a domino-like series of chemical reactions, free radicals hook up with fatty acids in the body to form substances called “peroxides.” Peroxides attack cell membranes, setting off a chain reaction that creates many more free radicals.

Because of vitamin E’s positive effect on the immune system and other factors, I believe supplementation with this vitamin is important. Our Natural Vitamin E Plus™, made from natural vegetable sources and therefore well assimilated by the body, is a good source of vitamin E. I recommend 1 capsule a day, taken with meals.

#5 Multiminerals

Many trace minerals play key roles in energy metabolism. During intense exercise, the rate of energy turnover in skeletal muscle may be increased up to 20 to 100 times the resting rate. Although an adequate vitamin and mineral status is essential for normal health, marginal deficiency states may occur when the metabolic rate is high.

Prolonged strenuous exercise performed on a regular basis may also result in increased losses from the body or in an increased rate of turnover, resulting in the need for an increased dietary intake, from food and supplements. Increasing your calories from lean, nutritious food, such as the foods recommended on the Parrillo Nutrition Program, can help increase your intake of trace minerals, but exercisers may need to pay additional attention to their intake, particularly of iron and
calcium.

Per tablet, Parrillo Mineral-Electrolyte™ contains 250 mg of calcium, 5 mg of iron, 250 mg of phosphorus, 75 mcg of iodine in the form of kelp, 250 mg of magnesium, 11 mg of zinc, 50 mcg of selenium, 500 mcg of copper, 10 mg of manganese, 25 mcg of chromium picolinate, 45 mg of potassium, 500 mcg of boron, along with other nutrients. I recommend that you take one tablet with each meal during the day for improved metabolism and well-being.

#6 Fish Oil

Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential fats that your body needs to function properly but does not make. Humans must eat them through food, which means eating seafood, such as salmon, tuna, sardines, mackerel or shellfish. Among the most potent omega-3s fatty acids are eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

Fish oil has an impressive resume of benefits. Fish oil and the omega-3 fatty acids it contains can help you boost your exercise performance. In a study of 32 healthy men, researchers found that supplementation with fish oil boosted aerobic power almost as much as the aerobic exercise itself! (5)

Fish oil may also prevent breast cancer. It combats inflammation and improves virtually all aspects of health, including the heart, skin, brain, joints, and overall mood.

Each capsule of Parrillo Fish Oil DHA 800 EPA 200™ contains 1100 milligrams of omega-3 fatty acids; this includes 800 milligrams of DHA and 200 milligrams of EPA. I suggest supplementing with 2 capsules daily, taken with meals.

#7 Evening Primrose Oil

Evening primrose oil in particular has specific benefits for athletes, bodybuilders – really, anyone who is interested in improving personal health and fitness. It comes from a plant that grows wild along roadsides. It is so named because its yellow flowers resemble in color real primroses, and these flowers open only in the evening.

From this oil, your body can directly obtain GLA, which stands for gamma-linolenic acid. GLA is ultimately converted into the prostaglandin E1 series, a group of beneficial chemicals that helps reduce inflammation, regulates blood clotting, decreases cholesterol levels, and lowers high blood pressure, among other functions. Thus, evening primrose oil is indicated for various diseases or conditions in which prostaglandins are associated, and these include premenstrual syndrome (PMS); heart disease; diabetic neuropathy, a type of nerve damage that is a complication of diabetes; and arthritis. A growing number of medical experts and scientists now believe that taking GLA-rich oils can effectively fight inflammation – the major cause of swollen, painful joints. GLA is a building block of a beneficial type of prostaglandin, which exerts an anti-inflammatory effect on the body. Thus, supplementing with GLA increases production of these prostaglandins and may help control the pain and inflammation associated with joint problems and arthritis.

The Parrillo Performance solution is Evening Primrose Oil™ a concentrated source of essential fatty acids, including GLA. EFA’s keep joints lubricated, hair and skin healthy, and brain neurons firing correctly. Each 1000 mg gel cap contains 30 IU’s of vitamin E, 100 mg of Gamma Linolenic Acid and 760 mg of Linoleic Acid. Take one to three capsules daily.

#8 Glucosamine & Support Nutrients

Our ongoing research recently led us to develop the Parrillo Joint Formula™ to assist in the rebuilding of damaged joints, tendons, cartilage, and soft tissue. The nutrients contained in this supplement include:

Glucosamine: Chemically, glucosamine is a combination of glucose and amino acids, and it has been extensively studied for joint health and support. When you supplement with glucosamine, it gathers in the liver, kidneys and articular cartilage. Once it reaches the chondrocytes, the cells that produce cartilage, the glucosamine is incorporated into those cells. Eventually, it forms a viscous fluid that helps protect and lubricate your joints and cartilage.

Chrondroitin: Like glucosamine, this is another one of the molecules that make up cartilage. One of its functions is to attract fluid into the tissue, and this gives cartilage resistance and elasticity. Also like glucosamine, chondroitin appears to stimulate cartilage cells to create new cartilage and it may also slow the breakdown of cartilage.

Shark Cartilage: This supplement can provide relief to painful, swollen, and stiff joints. The secret to shark cartilage’s success in treating arthritis primarily lies in the complex carbohydrates it contains: mucopolysaccharides, which relieve the chronic and painful inflammation that is so injurious to joints. Other benefits of shark cartilage are to regulate the immune system and prevent new blood vessel growth into the cartilage of the joints. European researchers have reported dramatic reductions in pain and inflammation in arthritis patients supplementing with shark cartilage.

Green Sea Mussel: This nutrient supports the restoration and maintenance processes of synovial fluid and connective tissues, joints, ligaments, tendons, cartilage and intervertebral discs. The suggested usage is one or two tablets three times a day. (Joint Formula™ should not be taken if you are allergic to seafood.)

Keep in mind that all these products should be used in conjunction with The Parrillo Performance Nutrition Program for best results.

References

1. Ji LL. Exercise, oxidative stress, and antioxidants. The American Journal of Sports Medicine. 1996;24:S20-S24.

2. Kanter MM. Free radicals, exercise, and antioxidant supplementation. International Journal of Sport Nutrition. 1994;4:205-220.

3. Ji LL. Exercise, oxidative stress, and antioxidants. The American Journal of Sports Medicine. 1996;24:S20-S24.

4. Alessio HM, et al. Exercise-induced oxidative stress before and after vitamin C supplementation. International Journal of Sport Nutrition. 1997;7:1-9.

5. Bucci, L. 1993. Nutrients as ergogenic aids for sports and exercise. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press.

Missy Rosemeyer

Adults live in the real world. Time is at a premium and life is a series of repeating responsibilities. Stories and feature articles about the tactics used by regular people to trigger extraordinary results are supremely interesting to the readers of the Parrillo Performance Press. How did these featured individuals, regular people living regular lives, transform their physiques using Parrillo tactics and strategies? How a regular person successfully pulls off a radical makeover is light years more relevant for normal people than how the current Mr. Olympia trains his triceps. Mature individuals are not fooled, seduced or enthralled in the slightest with articles about how some 300 pound muscle freak eats sixteen chicken breasts a day and trains three hours a day six times per week. That has zero relevance for person with a family, a job and all that goes with it.

Parrillo Performance Press readers would rather read about how a 49 year old police officer working tons of overtime reduced from 245 pounds of fat and blubber into 195 pounds of pure muscle. Real stories about real people making amazing gains in short frames is of supreme interest to the mature person still chasing the idea of a renovated physique and looking for ideas and inspiration. While the PPP might not be as visually exciting (at least for young men) as the cavalcade of gassed-to-the-max muscle monsters and scantily-clad women that cover every page of every muscle mag, the techniques and tactics discussed in the PPP, the ideas about nutrition and training, are immediately applicable for Joe and Mary Average. At Parrillo Performance our goal is to provide athletes with the most potent products and offer proven training tactics and new techniques for improving results, from both weight training and cardio. John Parrillo revolutionized the art and science of bodybuilding, both in training and nutrition. He changed the contours of the bodybuilding and fitness landscape forever. John has long championed a high volume training approach for both resistance training and cardio training. He has also long championed the “high calorie” dietary approach: eat lots of “approved food” that will “support” high intensity weight training and high intensity aerobics. Progress occurs quickly for those that commit fully and completely to a full-bore, all-out Parrillo-style training and nutrition program.

The Parrillo strategy is about melding training (lifting and cardio) with a highly stylized and specialized approach to nutrition: the Parrillo nutritional strategy could be encapsulated as high protein, high calorie, low LCT fat intake, augmented by targeted supplementation using potent Parrillo Products. Parrillo’s training and nutritional approach was born out of his extensive work “preparing” elite bodybuilders for competition. The Parrillo approach requires a total commitment: the Parrillo trainee goes all out in every training session, no half measures or watered-down compromises. The Parrillo trainee eats what they are supposed to eat when they are supposed to eat. Those disciplined enough to adhere fully and completely to the multidimensional Parrillo approach make radical gains rapidly. The physical rewards come quick to those disciplined enough to lock down each and every training and nutritional aspect of the Parrillo matrix and do so across the board, adhering to every single aspect every single day. Stories about regular folks getting extraordinary results using Parrillo strategies is hardly unique but always of great interest to our readers. When valiant struggle is rewarded with a transformed body it makes for inspirational reading. Real people discussing the specifics of the training and eating methods used to trigger a dramatic physical change in a matter of weeks or months are always of interest to readers of the Parrillo Performance Press.

Missy Rosemeyer is yet another in an unending succession of regular individuals that transformed their physiques using Parrillo-inspired tactics. Missy learned how to engineer her own transformation from Parrillo Performance Press cover-girl Heather Bear. Missy lives an ultra-busy life and her ability to fit fitness into a harried and multidimensional life is inspirational to those of us wondering how to fit fitness in. Missy is happily married and lives in rural Indiana. She has children ages 2, 4 and 6.  Can there be a more time-intensive undertaking than raising three rambunctious kids?  She weight trains alone in her sparse home gym in the basement early in the morning. “I wake up early, before the kids wake up. That way I can train in a concentrated fashion; something that is difficult if not impossible to do when the kids are up and going at it full steam.” Missy teaches jazzercise part time and as an aerobic instructor built a “good” physique before becoming involved with Parrillo. “My physique was okay but I knew something was missing. I had purposefully avoided weight training over the years, particularly any lower body weight training – I tend towards being bottom-heavy and I felt lifting weights would make my bottom half even more disproportional. I thought diet and fitness was all about eating next to nothing and avoiding weight training and just doing aerobics. When I began to do the opposite – eating six times a day and weight training – including my legs – my physical progress just took off. I had found what was missing.”

Missy took the plunge and incorporated weight training into her aerobic regimen. She made a wonderful discovery: weight training hardened and streamlined her legs. She also added a significant amount of shapely, svelte, sleek muscle to her upper body torso and in doing so improved her symmetry to a significant degree. Missy made progress so quickly that she began toying with the idea of competing in a Figure competition. Missy reached out to Heather Bear through a mutual friend and Heather helped Missy set up a competition training and diet cycle. Missy, who turned 38 this past March, competed at her first ever Figure Competition in April. She placed 5^th in the tall class and was positively thrilled about the whole process. “Competing was the culmination of a three month commitment. My degree of transformation was pretty dramatic. I couldn’t have done it without the help of my friend and super-knowledgeable trainer, Heather Bear.” Heather passed along to Missy how to construct a Parrillo-style cardio and weight training template. Heather helped Missy institute a Parrillo-style nutrition plan. Once Missy got into the rhythm of the training and nutrition, she was able shed body fat by the bucketful while simultaneously building new muscle that evened out her formerly asymmetrical physique. “I was able to create a new look for myself. It was amazing how quickly it all came together. Heather was a real asset; every time I began to doubt myself or lose momentum, she would reinvigorate me and pump me up. It was great to have someone as accomplished as Heather telling me I could and would do this if I stayed true to the path she had laid out.”

Her aerobic background gave Missy a terrific base on which to construct her new physique. “I have always been fit and athletic. Over the years I have kept myself in pretty good physical condition. I am a fitness instructor in addition to being a stay-at-home mom yet I was never able to shed those last few pounds of flab that accumulate on the hips and thighs. I had discipline and I dieted but I dieted by starving myself; whenever I dieted I lost too much weight too quickly and most of it was muscle that I could not really afford to lose. My weight loss always occurred in my upper body and never where I needed it, in my lower body. I hid behind and inside my jeans. I would never wear shorts or a swim suit because I was embarrassed by my thick flabby legs.” Then a mutual friend introduced Missy to Heather Bear. “My friend told me that Heather was an absolute expert and would be able to help me. At the time I had a vague idea that if I could engineer a fat loss, I might want to compete.” Missy reached out to Heather and the two hit it off immediately. “The phone call to Heather Bear was a phone call that literally changed my life. One meeting with Heather Bear convinced me that I could succeed if I committed to the process she described. Heather believed I could do this. Her confidence in me gave me the confidence to take the plunge.” Missy is normally “quite a self doubter” and she is often under-confident about herself and her abilities. Heather would hear none of it.

They started off the “process” by straightening out Missy’s diet. “I was doing everything wrong! Heather introduced me to the Parrillo multiple-meal, high-calorie dietary approach. She introduced me to potent Parrillo supplements. The eating and supplementing made an immediate and profound difference in how I looked and felt.” Heather taught Missy how to train legs properly. “Heather showed my how to exercise my legs so that they would become lean and sexy. I was really worried that my legs would blow up but instead they leaned out.” Heather played the role of cheerleader and coach. “Heather reaffirmed to me over and over that I could get my body to look exactly the way I envisioned. Heather provided me a terrific amount of emotional support. I really needed that starting out.” Heather was able to anticipate roadblocks and dead ends ahead of time. Missy recalls Heather’s commonsense advice. “I can still hear Heather saying over and over, “Will you quit worrying! Stop being such a doubter. You’re gonna look great!” Heather gave Missy the knowledge and confidence she needed to succeed. “I can honestly say that I have never looked hotter in my entire life – not bad for a mother of three small children.” Missy praises the guidance of Heather Bear. “I would highly recommend her services to anyone serious about improving their physique.” Missy was recently chosen as “female transformation of the week” on the monster website, Bodybuilding.com. She was also chosen to participate in the Ms. World Physique contest and has been barraged by people seeking her advice. “I get a ton of e-mails from other moms saying they are inspired from my story and that my story has fired them up to redouble their fitness efforts. This really means a lot to me. To know that you inspire others has a wonderful emotional benefit.” Missy Rosemeyer has just scratched the surface of her awesome potential. She is an ongoing work in progress and she serves as an inspiration to stay-at-home moms seeking to “fit fitness in.”

Sessions are done early in the morning. I usually will train for 30-40 minutes. I train legs twice a week and perform a lot of cardio teaching my class. My strength has improved dramatically since I began weight training.  I feel that I have a lot of room for improvement and have no doubt that I can improve considerably before my next competition.

Missy’s

Daily meal plan

Meal 1: Oats (½ cup), 5 egg whites

Meal 2: Parrillo Hi-Protein™ shake

Meal 3: Chicken breast (5 ounces), ½ cup of brown rice and broccoli

Meal 4: Parrillo Hi-Protein™ shake, almond butter on a sodium-free rice cake

Meal 5: Tilapia, ½ cup of asparagus, 1 tablespoon of almond butter

If I am really hungry late at night I will have another Parrillo Hi-Protein™ shake or cook four egg whites. The Parrillo Hi-Protein Chocolate Cupcakes™ with Protein Frosting™ are great for a sweet snack. I take Parrillo Fish Oil™ along with Parrillo Essential Vitamin Formula™ three times
a day.

Missy’s

Training Schedule

Monday: glutes and abdominals

Tuesday: back

Wednesday: legs

Thursday: shoulders and chest

Friday: biceps, triceps and back

Saturday: legs

Sunday: off

You need a steady supply of lean proteins like chicken or turkey breasts, egg whites, fresh fish, and lean cuts of red meat. You also need plenty of complex carbs like sweet potatoes, brown rice, and oatmeal, as well as fibrous carbs such as broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, and asparagus. Without the fiber from raw vegetables, your plumbing can get pretty backed up – not a comfortable feeling I can tell you. Did I say ‘steady supply’ of clean food? I did, because to stimulate the metabolism and prevent you from slipping into that dreaded catabolic state where your body hoards fat and scavenges your own muscle tissue for its amino acids, you must eat every two to three hours from the time you wake up until the time you go to sleep. Many bodybuilders now do something I started doing long ago, which is to have a protein shake containing casein, such as Parrillo’s Hi Protein™ or All-Protein™ at some point in the middle of the night when you get up to use the facilities.

Training is fun, but all that constant eating? It can often seem like a real chore. But like so many things in life, we bodybuilders can fail to appreciate just how critical eating the way we do is toward looking and feeling great until we are unable to do it for a while. On a recent ‘vacation’ to Florida, I gained a new appreciation for how lucky and privileged I am to eat like a bodybuilder.

Why did I throw those quotation marks around the word vacation? Generally speaking, a vacation is supposed to be a time to relax and chill out. I knew well ahead of time that this week would not be so stress-free. First, there was the nonstop drive from Boston to Fort Lauderdale to drop off my wife, her mother, my daughter, and her best friend at a Carnival cruise ship. In lieu of a lavish Sweet Sixteen party featuring a
performance by Lady Gaga and concluding with the presentation of a pink Lamborghini, my daughter was getting a week floating around the Caribbean. My wife and mother-in-law were along to provide adult supervision and to make sure the girls didn’t have too good of a time.

Meanwhile, I would head back to Orlando with my ten-year-old son to spend the week in a time-share condo with my wife’s sisters, their kids, and a friend of one of her sisters whose son I came to refer to privately as Spawn of Satan. All I can say about that particular kid is that if he were mine, I would certainly be in jail right now for child abuse. Then again, I doubt he would be as out of control and totally lacking in respect for his elders had I raised him. All in all, there were six kids, four adults, and three theme parks to visit and squander obscene amounts of money on. I never thought I would live to see the day when you could buy a decent used car for less than it would cost you to go to a couple of these places. Mickey Mouse must be living quite large these days.

I prepared as best I could for the week, knowing that my typical pattern of eating four or five solid meals and drinking two protein shakes a day would be impractical at best. With me was a full canister of chocolate Hi-Protein Powder™ and two full boxes of Protein Chew Bars™, as well as a container of raw mixed nuts. The bars and nuts would be taken into the parks with me. Not only was the food in these places ridiculously overpriced and loaded with trans fats, but my traveling companions, being quite sluggish of metabolism, simply did not stop to eat very often. As I knew from past experience, they preferred to have just a couple breaks for snacks and juice boxes over the course of eight or nine hours and would wait until they exited the park to find a family-style restaurant to gorge on appetizers and margaritas. I’m not knocking their penchant for alcohol – a day at a theme park with all those misbehaving and whiny brats would drive anyone to drink. That’s why I didn’t blame them for heading to the Jacuzzi every night with a large tumbler full of more booze. As the only adult male in the place, I knew that asking these vacationing women who clearly already had their hands full with the kids to cook me up some grub would not have been met with enthusiasm. My cooking skills were limited to frying up eggs and microwaving oatmeal.

Had it not been for all my Protein Chew Bars™, nuts, and the shakes I was constantly blending up at the condo, I would have surely missed many more meals than I did. As it was, I still missed plenty. At the parks, I grudgingly chose to eat the expensive greasy crap rather than go all day without any real food. By the end of the week, even though I had managed to sneak off to a local Gold’s Gym a couple times, I still looked and felt worse for wear. My muscles weren’t as full, my workouts were nothing to brag about, and I had definitely put on some bodyfat. When you look fatter even though you’re three shades darker, you know something’s wrong. Usually a tan makes anybody look leaner.

I was so ready to get back to my normal schedule of clean meals, but not quite yet. I still had to head way back down to the bottom of the Sunshine State, then drive back to Boston. I still had a few bars and some nuts left, but in the interest of making good driving time there would be precious few stops to eat, and those would have to be at fast food joints right off the I-95.

By the time I got home, I was practically kissing the floor in my kitchen. No longer would I be denied access to the food my body needed, when it needed it. There was my refrigerator, my oven, my microwave, stove, and all the good, clean food that really makes the difference when it comes to having an exceptional physique. You can train your ass off, but without the proper nutritional support, you just won’t ever look much better than the average gym rat who skips meals and eats the wrong things.

Before this vacation, a vacation I felt like taking a vacation from when it was over, I no longer felt that eating like a bodybuilder was an obligation or a chore. Instead, it was something I was privileged to be able to do. Instead of whining about how I can’t eat French fries or fried chicken strips, I was thanking God I didn’t have to subsist on that garbage. Rather than complain about how I have to eat every two hours, I am overjoyed that I am able to. Isn’t it funny seeing how the other half lives for even just a little while can shift your perspective and teach you to be more grateful for what you have? As for me, I am eating clean meals right on schedule again and loving it. It’s only been a couple days, but already I feel so much better and the unwanted chub that I gained during a week of terrible eating is well on its way off.

So the next time you think about eating the way we bodybuilders do as something that takes too much time and effort, remember that eating like a regular American slob truly sucks. And if you don’t believe me, just try it for a week!

Marga Lee Overby

It would seem that posing in competition would be an easy thing: stride onstage and strike a pose – but as with all things in life there is a lot more going on than meets the eye. John Parrillo has spent countless hours instructing his fleet of competitive bodybuilders on how best to display their physical wares, both in prejudging and in free posing. He relates that posing mastery takes hours of concentrated effort. “Any competitive bodybuilder that does not spend a considerable amount of time working on their compulsory poses and their posing routine will see their competitive placing plummet: even standing “relaxed” requires hours of practice – try standing still while tensing every muscle on your body for a protracted period of time. Try keeping the gut sucked in, the shoulders spread and the thighs tensed, all the while keeping a smile plastered on your face.”

Past and present posing masters include IFBB immortal Ed Corney and current posing king Kai Greene. Parrillo cover man Russ Testo has made a long and distinguished career out of guest posing at state, regional and national bodybuilding championships. A serious competitive bodybuilder needs to devote hours each week perfecting their compulsory and free posing routines. Often elite bodybuilders will call upon the services of a posing coach for help in becoming a better poser. Arnold Schwarzenegger famously called upon a ballet teacher to help him hone his physical presentation. There are posing coaches all over the United States, men and women that coach others on how best to highlight their physical strong points – and how best to hide their physical deficiencies. One such posing master and posing coach is Pacific Northwest Parrillo cover man Dave Patterson. Dave related that Marga Lee Overby is the best female poser he has seen “in years.” He told us in a recent interview that he was positively dumb-stuck when she showed him her posing routine. “Guy (Marga’s husband) and Marga asked if I would check out the posing routine that she was going to use at the Emerald Cup. I watched as she went through her minute-long routine and afterwards I stood collecting my thoughts. Marga mistook my silence as a negative and said so. I told her that her routine was the best posing routine I’d seen used by a woman in ten years.  Marga has that indefinable “it” factor…call it charisma or stage presence, I believe the It factor is when a poser combines grace and flow with power and assuredness.  When Marga poses she is powerful and strong and poised and completely on point. I told her and Guy that if she continued in this direction, that Marga would redefine great female posing.”

Marga Lee Overby is 37 years old and at the recent Emerald Cup captured second place in the middleweight women’s bodybuilding class and then went on to partner up with Dave Patterson to win the “mixed pairs” competition. We asked Marga about her post-Emerald Cup impressions. “I was thrilled to compete and I was thrilled to do as well as I did. It makes all the hard work and all the tough dieting worth the effort. It was gratifying to be so well received by the audience and by the other competitors.” Marga and Dave’s mixed pairs routine was done to an Old School rap song and by all accounts their performance brought down the house. Dave related that at the show Marga created a sensation every time she stepped onstage. “She was an absolute knockout. Every time she posed she was completely in command.” Marga competed at the Emerald Cup weighing 129 pounds carrying an “honest” 10.1% body-fat percentile. Genetically Marga is predisposed towards competitive bodybuilding. She has a lot of genetic gifts and has amplified on her ample gifts with tremendous amounts of hard work and disciplined Parrillo-style nutrition. Marga Lee Overby represents a clear example of the feminine ideal. As Dave Patterson noted, (and Dave is normally stingy with his superlatives) “Marga is a woman with muscles – as opposed to a muscular woman. She has a tomboy-athlete aspect that comes through strongly in how she carries herself.”

Marga has what is known in bodybuilding circles as the “X Frame.” The X Frame is a skeletal configuration that is an advantage for a competitive bodybuilder: the shoulders are naturally wide while the waist is small and the hips expand dramatically. Shapely thighs taper into swelling calves atop small ankles: Cory Everson and Lynda Murray were X Frame possessors – as is Marga Lee. Her calves are particularly outstanding. But great genetics will only take you so far: without the sweat and work in the gym and without the protracted and disciplined nutrition, genetics means nothing. Marga originally competed in Figure competitions but soon found that particular format confusing. “I was actually told by judges that in order to improve my competitive placing in Figure Competitions I would need to “soften up.” I was “too lean” and “too hard looking” and that I should seek to become softer. That’s a tough thing to hear – the implication being that I should train less and not diet as hard. I have always sought to strive to become better and better – to improve – to have judges tell me I needed to do less and basically strive for ‘moderation’ was not the message I wanted to hear.” She opted out of Figure and with some trepidation decided to enter the tough world of NPC female bodybuilding. The Pacific Northwest is a bodybuilding hotspot and hundreds of competitors compete annually in top Pacific Northwest shows like The Iron Man and Emerald Cup.  Marga was excited about entering the rock ‘em sock ‘em world of female competitive bodybuilding. It offered her a new and exciting challenge and no one would be telling her she needed to do less and eat more.

Ironically Marga was now faced with the opposite dilemma: in Figure competitions she was determined not to look too soft; now competing in the often times extreme world of female bodybuilding, she was determined not to look “too hard.” “In the world of female bodybuilding I was determined not to go too far – I was not prepared to lose my femininity.” She would not sacrifice her femininity in favor of the ultra-massive look that judges seemed to favor for female bodybuilders. In her inaugural bodybuilding outing, Marga won her class and the mixed pairs competition at the Night of Champions show in Spokane, Washington. This success fired her up even more and she began training harder and eating stricter. “I was going all out in every training session; I began eating with ever more focus: I was in love with the entire bodybuilding process.” Her husband Guy emphasized that point. “Marga’s work ethic in the gym is second to none. The word ‘cheat’ does not exist when it comes to her dedication to diet.” Guy is effusive and enthused about his relationship with his wife. “Working with Marga is awesome. We are each other’s biggest fans. Everything we do is a team effort. I love having her for a workout partner. As soon as we hit the first set in any training session we both switch mindsets and are no longer husband and wife, we are 100% training partners. We each wear our iPods and communication is limited to things pertaining to our workout. Her intensity level in the gym is tremendous. We constantly and continually strive to outwork one another and she usually wins.” To paraphrase an old cliché: the family that trains together stays together.

Parrillo-style nutrition:

Grow muscle and get ripped!

While training (weights and cardio) represent a major part of the bodybuilding equation, nutrition is the bodybuilding foundation. Marga and Guy train together in the gym and Marga and Guy pursue mutual nutritional goals outside the gym. Guy explained their dual approach to Parrillo-style nutrition. “It is a Godsend that she and I are likeminded and in pursuit of the same goals as it relates to bodybuilding. Marga understands bodybuilding dietary strategy and she understands the extra intensity and the iron-willed discipline needed to succeed, particularly in those final weeks leading up to a contest. We eat mostly the same foods but in different quantities. We often end up preparing each other’s food while making our own. We each live the bodybuilding lifestyle and we both subscribe to the mutual effort. It makes things so much easier when we attack training and nutrition as a team. Anyone who has ever been in a relationship where one person is completely immersed in bodybuilding and the other person is not can surely attest to the stress it imposes upon the relationship.” Marga relates that she uses the Parrillo nutritional precepts that she learned from her husband. “Guy has used Parrillo supplements for years; these potent products are in part responsible for my quick improvement as of late.” The longer she body builds, the more important nutrition and supplementation become. “I pay much greater attention to nutritional supplementation in recent years. I have seen a noticeable difference in my physique and in my ability to recover. I can engage in longer and more productive training sessions if my nutrition is dialed in and if my supplementation is right. I love
Parrillo Products.”

The more adept the competitive bodybuilder becomes the more important quick recovery from an intense training session becomes. Quicker recovery means more result-producing sessions can be crammed into the same timeframe. Marga concurs, “If my nutrition and supplementation are off then I do not recover nearly as quickly as when my nutrition and supplementation are perfect.” Guy related some specifics of Marga’s nutrition. “We usually start Marga on her pre-competition diet 14 to 16 weeks out from the show. I keep spreadsheets on both of our diets. We log everything: bodyweight, body fat percentiles, macronutrient breakdown, daily protein/fat/carb intake and caloric totals….this degree of detail has proved invaluable. We review the nutritional details leading up to previous competitions to look for trends. We look to see what has worked in the past and what has not worked.  In preparation for the Emerald Cup, Marga’s daily protein intake was 200 grams per day. She maintained this high level of protein intake for the entire 16 weeks. During the last six weeks we adjusted her fat intake and would fluctuate between 40 to 60 grams per day. Six weeks out we began “carb cycling.” Three days of low carbs would be followed by a day of high carbs; then two days of low carbs followed by one day of high carbs: her carb intake on the low days was a mere 25 grams. This shot up to 100 grams on the high days.  I timed the high carb days to fall on her non-lifting days. This is a bit unconventional – but I believe it allowed her to “fill back up.”  I wasn’t worried about her storing body fat on high carb or calorie surplus days being that she was on a calorie-deficit diet in general. Potent Parrillo supplements “filled in the gaps” and her final finished physical product was sensational.”

Marga Lee Overby’s

Pre-competition Diet Plan

Meal 1 – 6am: 8 egg whites, 2 yolks, veggies, ½ cup oatmeal, Parrillo CapTri® MCT Oil

Meal 2 – 9am: 8 egg whites, 2 yolks, veggies, almonds

Meal 3 – noon: 5 oz. of turkey breast, veggies, fish oil capsules

Meal 4 – 3pm: 5 oz. of turkey breast, veggies, fish oil capsules

Meal 5 – 6pm: post workout, Parrillo Optimized Whey™ shake, 125 grams sweet potatoes

Meal 6 – 8pm: 5 oz. of chicken breast, veggies, ½ tablespoon of flaxseed oil

Weekly

Training Split

Monday: back

Tuesday: chest and hamstrings

Wednesday: off

Thursday: biceps, triceps & abdominals

Friday: quadriceps

Saturday: shoulders and calves

Sunday: off

Weight workouts take approximately 45 min. and 3-4 exercises are used per body part or muscle group. The reps range from a low of 8 to as many as 15 reps per set. All exercises are done using extremely strict technique and a full range-of-motion. Cardio is performed every day. Leading up to a competition cardio is performed twice a day. The first cardio session is done in the morning on an empty stomach and the second cardio session is done after the evening weight training
session.

Guy added a few facts, “Marga really subscribes to the Parrillo philosophy of staying lean year round. She does cardio seven days a week during the off season. Her highest bodyweight for the past year was 139.  When we started her contest diet she was sitting at 136 pounds – but being a lean 136 made it much easier to get into contest shape. We did not have a ton of body fat to strip off. Every Saturday morning I perform the Parrillo body composition test on Marga. I have her go through her mandatory poses and after reviewing the body composition numbers we will assess her condition and make the necessary alterations to her diet and her cardio for the coming week. As it gets closer to contest time, we adjust her twice per week and even daily in the final week leading up to the show.”

Take the target muscle past capacity: John Parrillo was his usual matter-of-fact self when asked at a seminar a few years back about his strategy for muscle building. “First and foremost – you have to push yourself past your current limits in training. Keep in mind that “limits” can take many different forms. Nothing of any particular muscular significance is going to happen if you never push past your limits in training. The adaptive response is only triggered if and when a muscle is pushed past capacity. In response to stress, the body reacts and makes a muscle stronger and larger to cope with the repeated muscular stress of regular weight training sessions. If the human body favorably reacted to mild or light workouts, everyone would look like a professional bodybuilder.

Comfortable workouts cannot create dramatic results. Intense workouts are needed to trigger the adaptive response, the necessary prerequisite for muscle growth.” Obviously Parrillo’s contentions are dead-on and totally accurate: the question then becomes, what constitutes stress sufficient enough to trip the switch and build muscle?  There are many different ways to create the required stress. Stress-inducing techniques include: forced reps, rest-pause reps, short rest durations, drop sets, “down the rack” style dumbbell training, ultra-high rep Parrillo Extended sets, negatives, partials, slow-motion rep speed sets and long giant sets. All of these stress-inducing techniques can and should be used at various times to create the stress required to force the body to construct new muscle.

When you train, be it weights or aerobics, you want to equal or exceed capacity in some manner or fashion for that particular day! This is an important point and often misunderstood; let’s say your all time best bench press is 315 pounds for a single rep. You can do 275 for 5 reps and 245 for 10 reps on a good day. Just because you cannot match or exceed these marks in every single workout does not mean that you cannot have productive muscle-building training sessions. Maybe you come in to train and on this particular day if you were to accurately self-access you would only be capable of 300 pounds for a single bench press rep, 265 for 5 reps and 225 for ten reps. Yet even being “off,” you can grow muscle by equaling or exceeding your capacity on this particular day. One way to train when you are a bit off might be to work up to 255 for a set of 5 to 6 reps then have your training partner step in and administer another forced rep or two. Then you could drop the poundage down to 225 and ride that poundage to failure, hitting 8 to 10 reps before again performing a few more forced reps. Regardless of your capacity on a particular day, you grow muscle by exceeding capacity – even if it’s diminished capacity. Another way to know that you have trained hard enough to grow muscle is if you feel the unmistakable glow associated with the release of endorphin hormones. Endorphins are only released into the bloodstream in response to intense physical effort; endorphin secretions are pure hormonal bliss and hardcore weight trainers routinely trigger endorphin release; long distance runners also experience endorphin release and call it “Runner’s High.”

The King of all Stress-inducers – a properly applied forced rep: Most novice and intermediate bodybuilders do not know how to administer a proper forced rep. Like Goldilocks, the temperature of the porridge needs to be not too hot (too much help) not too cold (not enough help) but just right (barely enough help to keep a poundage moving.) Elite bodybuilders do not administer endless forced reps to one another. The Big Boys rarely go past three forced reps and more often, forced reps are kept to one or two. When a man is forcing reps with 400+ pounds in the bench press or 1,300 in the leg press, safety becomes paramount. When a pro bodybuilder digs into the forced reps at the end of a set already taken to failure, massive poundage exponentially multiplies the risk of complete collapse. Making a man push or pull on gargantuan poundage past one or two forced reps is risking disaster. Spotters must be on continual alert and ready to grab the bar or the dumbbells in a split second should the lifter falter. As a forced-rep administrator and spotter, training partners have certain responsibilities: first and foremost is to keep the lifter safe! Be prepared to haul the weight off the lifter if he collapses. Be alert and be ready to prevent a 1,000 pound leg press from falling on a lifter when he suffers a complete leg blowout two inches shy of lockout on the 9^th rep. The perfectly administered forced rep is a thing of beauty. A really experienced pro bodybuilder can push himself to do much higher numbers of forced reps using resistance machines. Murphy’s Law says the instant the spotter loses concentration is the instant the lifter collapses and experiences a career-ending injury. Great spotters allow the good bodybuilder to become a great bodybuilder: there is a level of physical development that is only attainable through the expert use of expertly applied forced reps.

Forced rep perfection: Your training partner is preparing for his top set in the bench press: he wants to push 405 for 4-5 reps then have you, his training partner, step in and administer one or (at most) two forced reps. He has already dispatched 135 for 15 reps using the Parrillo Intensity Set protocol that “makes the weight feel heavy.” He then hits 225 for 5 reps, 275 for 3 reps and 365 for a single explosive rep as his final warm-up. Now it’s time for the heaviest bench press set of the day: 405 for 4-5 reps. Up until this set, your partner, who is preparing for the NPC Junior Nationals in eleven weeks, has handled every bench press without any assistance. His procedure has been identical on every set: lift the poundage for the proscribed number of reps then immediately perform a targeted Parrillo Fascial stretch.  He finishes the Parrillo Three Phase set by performing a most muscular pose; he flexes his pec muscles to the point of cramping. He has performed four Three Phase sets and now it’s time to push some serious iron in his top bench press set of the day. He sits down on the end of the bench and carefully positions his feet. He rolls back and underneath the barbell; you step to your lift-off position behind the bench at barbell center. He places his hands 28 inches apart and simultaneously you grab the center knurling with a double overhand grip: you are about to do an upright row with 405.

“On three.” Your training partner says as he sets his body, clears his mind and prepares to lift the weight out of the stanchions. “One…Two…THREE!” You tug upward with all your might as he pushes upward. The weight clears the supporting racks and with a practiced technique you help guide the barbell forward. At liftoff the barbell was behind his head and now it is over his eyes. “GOT IT!” he hisses. You let go as he unlocks his elbows and commences the first of four easy reps. He barely makes the 5^th rep. You instantaneously grab the barbell with each of your hands just inside his. He begins lowering for his 6^th rep, the first forced rep. You have stepped forward as far as the bench allows. You are feeling his power transmitted through the barbell; he is resisting the lowering and the barbell vibrates with his effort. At the turnaround, where descent becomes ascent, you imperceptibly begin pulling upward, slightly assisting your partner. You stare at the center of the barbell and nothing else. Your task is simple and requires 100% concentration; the bar must move upward in a sustained fashion. If you feel the bar slow down it is your job to pull upward with enough power to keep the barbell moving at the original pace. If he stalls and the bar ceases moving, you are failing in your responsibilities.

The perfect spot: Let us follow the 405 pound forced rep set to conclusion. As your training partner locks out the 6^th rep with 405, you keep your hands on the barbell. You listen intently for your partner to give you direction; he’ll either say, “Take it!” meaning “help me get this bar back into the safety supports” or “Another!” meaning, let’s do another forced rep. On this day he says, “Another!” You’re not surprised, the previous 6^th rep was 90% him. He begins to lower the weight to his chest and you grip the bar in anticipation of a complete physical collapse. If that happens and you are spaced out or distracted by the gym eye candy, catastrophic injury is a very real possibility. At the turnaround on the 2^nd forced rep you really have to step up and dramatically increase the amount of upward pull needed to keep the bar moving smoothly. The lockout is extremely tough and you know before he says “Take it!” that this set is definitely over. With a mighty tug, up and back, you guide the heavy poundage back into the safety supports. “Excellent spotting, that was absolutely
perfect!”

He slaps your shoulder as he bounds off the bench and heads over to a chin bar to perform another set of Parrillo Skin-the-Cat fascial stretching. After stretching for a full minute, (“I can’t explain it, but relaxing in an upside down pec-pulling skin-the-cat stretch position is therapeutic. I almost start meditating.”) He flexes in the mirror and his pectoral and front delt muscles look as if they will pop through the skin. Not done, he hits an eight rep bench set with 365 and you administer two forced reps. You later administer top set forced reps to your partner on heavy dumbbell incline presses; then onto more forced rep sets in the cable crossover and pec deck. By session’s end, and with your help, your partner has taken another step closer towards his ultimate goal of winning an IFBB pro card. The experienced training partner is indispensible for keeping the elite bodybuilder safe through alert spotting. The champion bodybuilder cannot administer his own forced reps, now can he? Forced reps are an integral part of every elite bodybuilder’s training regimen.

How many, how often: The first rule of forced reps is that you save them for the big stuff: no sense doing forced reps on dinky warm-up sets. Save the forced reps for the top sets of an exercise. There are two legitimate schools of thought regarding the sheer number of forced rep sets it is advisable to perform within a session: one school of thought reasonably contends that forced rep sets wreak havoc on the central nervous system and therefore a rookie trainee should use forced reps sparingly if not at all; the intermediate trainee can use them more often; the advanced man can use forced reps frequently. Another school of thought disagrees with this CNS hypothesis: why shouldn’t a sharp training partner step in and help the beginner or intermediate trainee complete a tough rep (or two) at the conclusion of every top set? Is it really that devastating? To NOT do so seems a wasted opportunity. Most card-carrying professional bodybuilders expect their attuned training partners to step in and help them perform an extra rep or two on every top set of every exercise in every single session. They know that is where the muscle growth lies. The surest way to know you’ve trained up to and past capacity is to do some serious forced rep training. Forced rep training ensures you train hard enough to trigger endorphin release. Forced rep training causes muscular hypertrophy. Take yourself past what you are capable of using forced reps. Just make sure you have a smart, savvy partner and make sure before each set that you both understand what you want to happen. Never start a forced rep set assuming your partner knows what to do.

Forced reps & nutrition: Intensity-enhancing training techniques are commonly used within the extended Parrillo community of competitive bodybuilders. The central nervous system’s ability to handle stress improves over time. Being subjected to the various intensity amplifiers, such as drop sets, negatives, forced reps and extended sets, requires the bodybuilder has their nutrition “squared up.” A big part of being able to thrive on a steady diet of forced reps, drop sets and extended rep sets is to make sure the bodybuilder’s nutrition is right. John Parrillo states that often nutrition seems to be the answer to just about any question or problem related to serious bodybuilding. There is an old Parrillo saying, “There is no such thing as over training – only under eating.” Nowhere is that maxim more accurate than when it comes to the use of forced reps: if you utilize forced reps, if you use them often, then you need to be firing down copious amounts of quality nutrients on a consistent basis. If you perform lots of forced rep sets and then under-eat, you will wear out the body in no time flat. Without quality nutrition, recovery from session to session becomes problematic.  Forced reps are an amazing tool if applied properly and used correctly. Use them to blow through all of your current physical sticking points – just heed John Parrillo’s words and “Make sure the nutrition is right!”