Bulletin #166 – Rest, Recuperation & GH

Rest and recuperation can work in conjunction with growth hormone (GH) if this relationship is properly understood. For background, growth hormone (GH) is a protein hormone made by the pituitary gland, a small secretory gland at the base of the brain. Hormones, chemical messen-gers secreted by endocrine glands into the bloodstream, are delivered to target tissues, where they exert their effects. (1) Although growth hormone is of interest to adults, its primary function is to promote growth during childhood. Actively growing children have the highest levels of growth hormone. Gradu-ally, GH release decreases with age. The decline in GH levels may in fact be the cause of some of the processes of aging. If you haven’t made good gains in awhile try to incorporate some of the following GH-releasing ideas.GH & Rest between SetsAn important exercise parameter that seems to enhance GH release is to use shorter rest intervals when training. To do this, of course, you have to use lighter weights (and more reps).

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A difficult protocol that works well to increase GH levels is to train to failure at 10 reps (use 10 rep maximum weight) combined with one-minute rest intervals (5). If you’re used to resting 3-5 minutes between sets, shorten up the rest in-terval to one minute or less; it will work wonders. Sometimes body-builders get into a rut; they plateau and can’t figure out the problem. It might be that they’re training like powerlifters: very heavy weights, very low reps with long rest inter-vals. In 1993 a scientific study compared the GH-release of 20 sets of one rep each (done maximally) to 10 sets of 10 reps (also maximum) and found the 10 sets of 10 reps resulted in greater GH release (6). Why? Prob-ably the larger volume of work, done with enough reps to result in some lactic acid production, com-bined with short rest intervals, is the best way to trigger GH release. It may prove beneficial to include some high intensity aerobics as part of your cardiovascular train-ing.

There seems to be theoretical justification to include sprinting for better results.A postscript here: Weight training is incredibly intense exercise and within seconds of the commence-ment of a heavy set, energy reserves are depleted and waste products be-gin to accumulate (1-4). Creatine phosphate serves as an energy donor and helps to maintain the supply of ATP, the molecule used by muscles to power contractions. ATP is rap-idly depleted and strength fades as a heavy set proceeds, muscular con-tractions soon stop altogether. Dur-ing the rest interval between sets ATP and creatine phosphate stores are repleted. Supplementation with Creatine Monohydrate can help the entire depletion-regeneration pro-cess as it increases intracellular Creatine pools(5-6). Supplement with our Creatine Monohydrate Formula™ and you will get a bet-ter training effect.Sleep & Stress Issues Always try to get enough sleep, es-pecially since GH is naturally re-leased at night. If you are unable to sleep optimally, your recovery will suffer and you won’t be able to train each muscle group as frequently.

You can also stimulate the release of growth hormone through the in-gestion of amino acids. Arginine Pyroglutamate and Lysine Mono-hydrochloride, two potent amino acids, when isolated and grouped together and taken on a regular basis have been shown to promote the secretion of growth hormone in the body. Parrillo Performance has grouped this amino duo in its Enhanced GH Formula™. These two aminos have been shown to stimulate the release of GH in test subjects. Growth hormone is the mightiest of all hormonal secretions as it increases mass and decreases bodyfat simultaneously, and aids injoint repair! This particular amino grouping is best taken on an empty stomach and it is suggested to take Enhanced GH Formula™ immediately upon awaking, before training and just before bedtime. Taken before bed (2 to 3 capsules), these easy to di-gest capsules will dissolve as you sleep, providing you with GH-trig-gering amino acids. Grow while you sleep! Take them in the morn-ing too, and prior to training. Muscle growth and decreased body fat are the ultimate goals of every hard-train-ing bodybuilder and strength athlete and muscle can’t grow without growth hormone. Growth hormone increases lean body mass by stimulating protein synthesis and increasing nitrogen re-tention. GH is anabolic, meaning that it acts to promote incorporation of nutrients into new body tissues (1,2).

One way to increase your natural GH levels is through supplementation with a special combination of amino acids (3), combined with adequate rest and sleep. Nutrition plays an absolutely central role in the rest and recovery process. The foods you eat supply you with the building blocks the body needs to repair itself. If you are train-ing intensely and getting enough sleep but not eating right, then your growth potential will be severely limited. You should be getting one to two grams of protein per pound of body weight ev-ery day for optimal growth and recov-ery (7-10). Most bodybuilders use a protein sup-plement as the foundation for their nu-tritional program. We think the best protein on the market is our Hi-Protein Powder™ or Optimized Whey Pro-tein™. Our whey protein is fortified with extra glutamine and branched chain amino acids. In terms of recov-ery and growth the two most impor-tant supplements are protein powder and Creatine Monohydrate. Carbohy-drates are required to maintain your muscle glycogen stores. When muscle glycogen is depleted, strength and endurance drop off markedly (1-4).

If you are no longer getting a good pump after a set, this is a sign that you are running low on glycogen. In this case, increase your carbs by using two to four scoops of Parrillo Pro-Carb™ after your workout. This is the per-fect time to supplement with carbs as they will be stored as glycogen. Don’t forget to take your vitamins and minerals. I suggest six meals a day, spaced at regular intervals. Each meal should include a pro-tein source (such as lean chicken or turkey), a starch, and a fibrous vegetable. Good starches include potatoes, rice, beans, and corn. Stay away from simple sugars and refined carbohydrates such as pas-ta or bread. Metabolically, refined carbohydrates behave much like simple sugars. Also avoid milk and fruit, which are rich in sugars. Consult the Parrillo Performance Nutrition Manual for detailed in-structions. Adequate nutrition and sleep are two critical ingredients in achieving optimal recovery. Don’t be afraid to vary and experiment with your rest intervals and train-ing frequency.

References

1. McArdle WD, Katch FI, and Katch VL. Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition, and Human Per-formance. Lea & Febiger, Philadel-phia, 1991.

2. Wilmore JH and Costill DL. Physiology of Exercise and Sport. Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL, 1994.

3. Essentials of Strength Trainingand Conditioning, Thomas R. Baechle, editor, National Strength and Conditioning Association, Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL, 1994.

4. Guyton AC. Textbook of Medi-cal Physiology, W.B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, 1991.

5. Maughan RJ. Creatine supple-mentation and exercise perfor-mance. International Journal of Sport Nutrition 5: 94-101, 1995.

6. Greenhaff PL. Creatine and itsapplication as an ergogenic aid. International Journal of Sport Nu-trition 5: S100-S110, 1995.

7. Tarnopolsky MA, MacDougall JD, and Atkinson SA. Influence of protein intake and training sta-tus on nitrogen balance and lean mass. J Appl Physiol 64: 187-193, 1988.

8. Lemon PWR. Influence of di-etary protein and total energy intake on strength improvement. Sports Sci Exch 2, 1989.. Celejowa I and Homa M. Food intake, nitrogen, and energy bal-ance in Polish weight lifters dur-ing training camp. Nutr Metab 12: 259-274, 1970.

10. Laritcheva KA, Yalovaya NI, Shubin VI, and Shirnov PV. Study of energy expenditure and protein needs of top weight lift-ers. In: Nutrition, Physical Fitness and Health, eds. Pariznova J and Rogozkin VA, 155-163. Univer-sity Park Press, Baltimore, 1978.

Bulletin #143 – Supplementation & Rest Go Together

Getting enough rest and taking the right supplements are important ad-juncts to your fitness and health. There are different categories of rest. One quantifiable type is the rest interval between sets. How much time do you allow before commenc-ing the next set? A second type of rest is the rest interval between training sessions. How long before you train the same muscle again? Then there is sleep: how long do you sleep each night and are you getting enough quality sleep? Fi-nally, where in the “rest process” can you introduce supplements to opti-mize your progress? I’ll answer these questions for you in this column.  Rest Intervals Between Sets  Use different rest intervals between sets to elicit different muscular ef-fects. The length you choose will trigger a different physiological ef-fect.

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If you want to get cut-up and lean, you would naturally and cor-rectly gravitate towards a focused and fast-type of workout style. If your goal is to increase your muscle mass, you will need to increase your strength. Increased strength occurs when additional poundage is han-dled or more reps are performed. In order to handle heavier weight or perform more reps per set you need to be totally recovered from the previous set. Allow plenty of time between sets when you are tackling the big weights. Heavy, compound exercise movements, those which in-volve the movement of two or more joints to push the weight to com-pletion: i.e. squats, bench presses, rows, cleans, overhead presses, deadlifts, etc., will require more recovery time between sets than isolation exercises like curls or del-toid raises. Again, this is com-mon sense stuff but basic concepts need to be repeated periodically.   Here is where supplementation comes in: Weight training is in-credibly intense exercise and with-in seconds of the commencement of a heavy set, energy reserves are depleted and waste products begin to accumulate (1-4). Creatine phos-phate serves as an energy donor and helps to maintain the supply of ATP, the molecule used by muscles to power contractions.

ATP is rap-idly depleted and strength fades as a heavy set proceeds, muscular contractions soon stop altogether. During the rest interval between sets ATP and creatine phosphate stores are repleted. Supplementa-tion with Creatine Monohydrate™ can help the entire depletion-re-generation process as it increas-es intracellular Creatine pools(5-6). Supplement with our Creatine Monohydrate Formula™ and you will get a better training effect.  Rest between Training Sessions  What is the amount of time to rest between training sessions? Some people do best by training each muscle group once a week, but training it very hard. Others get better results by training a particu-lar muscle two or in some instances even three times a week. One key factor is your strength level. As you get stronger and lift heavier weights it takes longer to recover. Many ex-perienced bodybuilders like to train each muscle group once a week for this reason. Beginners do much better by training each muscle two or three times weekly. After all, a man who bench presses 500 for reps and does forced reps and negatives will need a lot longer to recover than a rookie handling 100×5 in the same exercise.

Like most ev-erything about training, variation is the name of the game. You could develop a two-day a week routine, a three-day routine, or a six-day routine. Variety is the spice of life and the way we keep progress-ing. Sameness equals stagnation.  Overtraining Is Really Under- nutritionOther questions are often asked of me, such as: When should I take a day off? What is the strategy behind rest and recuperation? What is the relationship between exercise, nutri-tion, rest and muscle growth? Gen-eralizations are dangerous since ev-eryone is different and circumstanc-es are never the same. In addition to weight training, a Parrillo-trained bodybuilder needs to do aerobics on a regular and systematic basis. Pre-contest bodybuilders will do aerobics twice a day in addition to regular weight training. This is a lot of work, particularly since we insist the athlete train intensely whatever the discipline. Our rule of thumb is that you should take off the least amount of days you need in order to recuperate. If you are eating properly and plentifully and getting plenty of sleep at night, you can train hard-er, longer, heavier and more often.

You hear a lot of talk on how to avoid over-training but often this is an excuse for laziness. Over training can be avoided if you take in lots of quality calories and get plenty of deep, restful sleep. In fact, at Par-rillo, if athletes think they are over-training, I advise that they up their calories rather than cut back on the weight training or aerobic activity. It is tough to make progress by exercis-ing less. If you are not making good gains and feel zapped and tired, try increasing your calories and adding another hour of sleep to your nightly allotment. Make sure you are training intensely enough to stimulate growth. What is intense enough? Pushing the envelope and upping poundage or weights every session. Push hard and make gains, then refuel and rest.  Muscle Characteristics & Recovery  Another key recovery factor is the characteristic of the muscle itself. Large muscles need more time to recover between workouts. Because big muscles are stronger, you can lift more poundage and are subjected to greater stress, you need longer to recover. You might find that your arms recover faster than your legs, for example. Or your triceps recover quicker than your lower back. Be aware of these muscular phenom-ena when scheduling your sessions.  Sleep and Stress IssuesAlways try to get enough sleep. If you are unable to sleep optimally, your recovery will suffer and you won’t be able to train each muscle group as frequently. Stress can be a definite detriment to recovery. Emotional stress is a very real factor as is illness. D

uring stress your body produces cortisol, which helps you through the stress but has the unfortunate side effect of breaking down muscle. Cortisol is a catabolic hormone that breaks down muscle tissue so that the protein can be used as fuel. Illness reduces your ability to recover as your body devotes its energy to fighting the sickness rather than re-pairing muscle tissue. If you have a cold and don’t feel too bad, then go ahead and train. But if you have a fever or are too sick to work take a few days off from the gym or do mild aerobics until you feel strong enough to weight train.  Recovery NutritionNutrition plays an absolutely cen-tral role in the recovery process. The foods you eat supply you with the building blocks the body needs to repair itself. If you are training intensely and getting enough sleep but not eating right, then your growth potential will be severely limited. You should be getting one to two grams of protein per pound of body weight every day for op-timal growth and recovery (7-10). Most bodybuilders use a protein supplement as the foundation for their nutritional program. We think the best protein on the market is our Hi-Protein Powder™ or Opti-mized Whey Protein™ or our new All-Protein™. Our whey protein is fortified with extra glutamine and branched chain amino acids. In terms of recovery and growth the two most important supplements are protein powder and Creatine Monohydrate™. Carbohydrates are required to maintain your muscle glycogen stores.

When muscle glycogen is depleted, strength and endurance drop off markedly (1-4). If you are no longer getting a good pump after a set, this is a sign that you are running low on glycogen. In this case, increase your carbs by using two to four scoops of Par-rillo Pro-Carb™ after your work-out. This is the perfect time to supplement with carbs as they will be stored as glycogen. Don’t forget to take your vitamins and minerals. I suggest six meals a day, spaced at regular intervals. Each meal should include a pro-tein source (such as lean chicken or turkey), a starch, and a fibrous vegetable. Good starches include potatoes, rice, beans, and corn. Stay away from simple sugars and refined carbohydrates such as pas-ta or bread. Metabolically, refined carbohydrates behave much like simple sugars. Also avoid milk and fruit, which are rich in sugars. Consult the Parrillo Performance Nutrition Manual for detailed in-structions. Adequate nutrition and sleep are two critical ingredients in achieving optimal recovery. Don’t be afraid to vary and ex-periment with your rest intervals and training frequency.

References

1. McArdle WD, KatchFI, and Katch VL. Exercise Physi-ology: Energy, Nutrition, and Human Performance. Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia, 1991.

2. Wilmore JH and Cos-till DL. Physiology of Exer-cise and Sport. Human Ki-netics, Champaign, IL, 1994.

3. Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, Thomas R. Baechle, editor, Na-tional Strength and Condition-ing Association, Human Kinet-ics, Champaign, IL, 1994.

4. Guyton AC. Text-book of Medical Physiol-ogy, W.B. Saunders Com-pany, Philadelphia, 1991.

5. Maughan RJ. Cre-atine supplementation and exercise performance. In-ternational Journal of Sport Nutrition 5: 94-101, 1995.

6. Greenhaff PL. Cre-atine and its application as an ergogenic aid. Interna-tional Journal of Sport Nu-trition 5: S100-S110, 1995.

7. Tarnopolsky MA, Mac-Dougall JD, and Atkinson SA. Influence of protein intake and training status on nitrogen bal-ance and lean mass. J Appl Physiol 64: 187-193, 1988.

8. Lemon PWR. Influence of dietary protein and total ener-gy intake on strength improve-ment. Sports Sci Exch 2, 1989.

9. Celejowa I and Homa M. Food intake, nitrogen, and en-ergy balance in Polish weight lifters during training camp. Nutr Metab 12: 259-274, 1970.

10. Laritcheva KA, Yalovaya NI, Shubin VI, and Shirnov PV. Study of energy expenditure and protein needs of top weight lift-ers. In: Nutrition, Physical Fit-ness and Health, eds. Pariznova J and Rogozkin VA, p. 155-163. University Park Press, Baltimore, 1978.

Bulletin #120 – Boosting GH Naturally With Nutrition

Forget steroids . Forget androstenedione . Forget DHEA. Forget whatever “flavor of the month” mass-building drug comes on the scene . I’m a big believer in getting back to basics, especially for building muscles. And one of the basics is a natural supple-ment you can use to accomplish a lot of what you want, along with proper nutri-tion and training . And that supplement is a good growth hormone (GH) releaser. For background: Physiologically, growth hormone (GH) is the most impor-tant hormone in the body for bodybuilders and athletes because it acts as a powerful stimulus for muscle growth and fat loss. Many of the effects of exercise in increas-ing muscle mass and decreasing body fat are mediated by growth hormone. (1,2) Growth hormone (GH) is the most an-abolic substance in the human body (3,4). In a study of older men (whose growth hormone levels are diminished), it was found that GH administration promoted an increase in muscle mass and a decrease in body fat — even in the absence of exercise training (3,4).

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Growth hormone is anabolic, meaning that it promotes the incorporation of nutrients into new body tissues, including the protein synthesis required to make muscle. Part of this effect is believed to oc-cur because GH promotes the transport of certain essential amino acids inside muscle cells. Notably, insulin also acts to transport a different set of essential amino acids, so you need adequate amounts of GH and insulin present at the same time to stimulate muscle growth. GH also has a “lipolytic” effect, which means it mo-bilizes body fat from adipose depots and increases the use of fat for energy. This in turn spares carbohydrates so glycogen stores are preserved. The most important role of growth hormone is in promoting growth during childhood . Without GH, normal adult stature will not be achieved. Growth hormone acts to promote growth of all tis-sues of the body except the nervous sys-tem. GH levels reach maximal levels in late teens and gradually decline with age. The high levels of GH and testosterone in young adult males explain why most bodybuilders make their best gains during their late teens and twenties.

This again underscores the central role of hormones in bodybuilding. Proper nutrition (including carbohy-drates, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids), rest, and a good psychosocial environment are all require-ments for growth (5). Mental state (emo-tional state) can directly influence normal growth in humans. No doubt this effect is mediated by the hypothalamus, since it connects the endocrine system to the mind. If you’re eating and training right, but are totally stressed out about work or some personal problem, you’re probably not going to make very good gains. The mind is very important to bodybuilding. You must maintain a positive and ag-gressive attitude and not be distracted by outside stresses . Growth hormone (GH) has some ma-jor effects on mass and on the metabolism of carbohydrate, protein, and fat. First of all, GH increases lean body mass by stimulating protein synthesis and increas-ing nitrogen retention. Part of this effect is believed to be due to GH promoting transport certain essential amino acids inside muscle cells. GH-deficient indi-viduals have a relatively high proportion of body fat.

Treatment with GH causes a decrease in body fat, accompanied by an increase in body protein, mostly muscle. Sometimes, particularly after a pe-riod of glucose deprivation, GH has an insulin-like effect in increasing glucose uptake and utilization. This effect disap-pears quickly, and its physiological sig-nificance is a mystery. After about two hours, glucose metabolism is inhibited in muscle and adipose tissue . There is a decrease in glucose uptake and muscle glycogen stores are preserved. In adipose tissue, GH promotes the breakdown of stored triglyceride (body fat), increasing plasma levels of free fatty acids (FFA). Since glucose uptake is sup-pressed by GH, fat synthesis is also sup-pressed. These effects combined result in a net loss of body fat. The thing to remember is that GH decreases glucose uptake and utilization and spares glycogen, it increases use of fat for energy by mobilizing fat stores, and it increases protein synthesis .

The net effect is to make the body leaner and more muscular. Many of the effects of exercise in making the body leaner and more muscular are mediated by an exer-cise-induced increase in growth hormone (1,2). GH secretion is stimulated by sleep, stress, low blood glucose, an increase in certain amino acids (especially argi-nine, leucine, valine, and ornithine), and exercise. Normally, GH is secreted in an episodic fashion with maximal secre-tion occurring during deep sleep . GH is synthesized and stored in the anterior pi-tuitary, and its plasma level is controlled via its rate of secretion. Its rate of se-cretion is controlled by two hormones from the hypothalamus: GHRH (growth hormone releasing hormone) and soma-tostatin (which inhibits GH release). GH secretion is thus under minute-by-minute control by the nervous system. There are several things you can do as a bodybuilder to naturally increase your GH levels (3). First, eat an adequate diet containing at least one gram of protein per pound of body weight. A high-pro-tein meal increases GH release . Second, supplement your diet with GH releasers — those containing arginine pyrogluta-mate and lysine monohydrochloride, the most effective oral combination of amino acids for GH release ever developed (4). Third, make sure you get enough sleep. Maximal GH release occurs during deep sleep . Finally, train smart. Heavy, low-rep work is effective in increasing strength.

This is probably due to an increase in testosterone levels and a training effect on the nervous system. High-rep work with moderate weights is more effective in stimulating GH release (1,2,3), so it’s a huge mistake to leave out the high-rep part of your training. The GH release resulting from high-volume training also serves as a potent stimulus for fat loss. Of course, you need both high-rep and low-rep work to make continuing progress. So get back to basics. Get back to GH. At Parrillo Performance, our version of the GH releaser supplement is called our Enhanced GH Formula™. It contains the combo I mentioned above – arginine pyroglutamate and lysine monohydro-chloride, shown to release growth hor-mone is test patients . With this particular amino acid grouping, I suggest that you take it on an empty stomach immedi-ately upon waking, before training, and just before bedtime. Taken before bed is great, because the capsules dissolve while you’re in dreamland, providing your body with GH-triggering amino acids at a time when GH release is the highest anyway. Theoretically, you can grow while you sleep!

References

1. Kraemer, W.J. 1992. Influence of the endocrine system on resistance training adaptations . National Strength and Con-ditioning Journal 14: 47-54 .

2. Kraemer, R.R., et al. 1992. Growth hormone, IGF-1, and testosterone re-sponses to resistive exercise. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise . 24: 1346-1352 .

3 . Crist, D .M . 1991 . Growth Hor-mone Synergism. Albuquerque: DMC Health Sciences .

4. Isidori, A., et al. 1981. A study of growth hormone release in man after oral administration of amino acids. Current Medical Research and Opinion 7:475-481 .

5. Johnson, L.R. 1992. Essential Medical Physiology. New York: Raven Press, New York.

Bulletin #102 – Recharge with Glutamine

Have you been training super-hard, with all-out aerobic exercise, in addition to push-to-the-max weight training? If so, a crucial amino acid called glutamine could be de-pleted from your body. The most abundant amino acid in your body, glutamine is stored mostly in your muscles, although rather significant amounts are found in your brain, lungs, blood, and liver. This important amino acid serves as a building block for proteins, nucleotides (structural units of RNA and DNA), and other amino acids and is the principle fuel source for cells that make up your immune system. Glutamine is also one of the amino acids found in our Ultimate Amino Formula™.Under certain conditions – including injury and intense exercise – the body’s tissues demand more glutamine than the normal amount supplied by diet (which is five to 10 grams a day) and more than can be synthe-sized normally by your body. 1During intense exercise, for instance, your muscles release glutamine into the blood-stream . This can deplete muscle glutamine reserves by as much as 34 percent. Such a shortfall can be problematic, since a defi-ciency of glutamine promotes the breakdown and wasting of muscle tissue. But if ample glutamine is available, muscle loss can be prevented.2Glutamine is the amino of the moment; that is, it has been in the nutritional spotlight because of its amazing versatility. There was a time when glutamine was thought to be a non-essential amino acid, but now it has been re-christened “conditionally essential.”

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If you are highly active, glutamine should be a part of your supplement program, for reasons described below.Glutamine is an immunonutrient.Glutamine is the favored fuel of your im-mune cells. This means you need it when you’re ill, stressed, or recovering from surgery. During such times, the demand for glutamine exceeds its production and the body’s nitrogen stores become rapidly de-pleted — a sign that muscle protein is being broken down. This is a problem since glutamine is required for healing internal tissues and manufacturing muscle protein. Patients hospitalized for surgery, trauma, or infec-tion often receive supplemental glutamine in their feeding solutions.Researchers have also discovered that many athletes are deficient in glutamine - a shortage that makes them more vulnerable to infections.

One group of investigators mea-sured plasma levels of glutamine in runners following their participation in a marathon. For about an hour after the event, glutamine levels declined, but slowly returned to nor-mal within about 16 hours of the race. But during this period, the runners’ lymphocyte (white blood cell) count declined. Interest-ingly, lymphocytes rely on glutamine for growth.3 In a separate study by the same group of researchers, athletes supplemented with 5 grams of glutamine right after exercise and again two hours later. Only 19 percent of the glutamine-supplemented athletes reported infections during the next week, while 51 percent of those who took a placebo got a cold or other infection.4Studies like this one have led researchers to believe that the increased incidence of colds, infections and other illnesses among athletes after intense exercise sessions may have something to do with the glutamine/lymphocyte connection . Thus, supplement-ing with glutamine may fend off infections that can sideline your training .5Glutamine stimulates the synthesis of muscle glycogen.

Glutamine is technically described as a “glucogenic,” meaning that it assists your body in manufacturing glycogen, the chief muscle fuel. In a study involving subjects who cycled for 90 minutes, intravenous glutamine, administered during a two-hour period following exercise, doubled the concentration of glycogen in the muscles. It’s not clear exactly how glutamine works in this regard, though . Scientists speculate either that glutamine itself can be converted into muscle glycogen or that it may inhibit the breakdown of glycogen.6Glutamine may enhance muscle growth.Also, supplemental glutamine has been shown to elevate growth hormone (GH) lev-els, theoretically influencing muscle growth. Physiologically, GH is the most important hormone in the body for exercisers and bodybuilders because it acts as a powerful stimulus for muscle growth and fat loss. Growth hormone is a substance that makes cells multiply faster. Among other func-tions, growth hormone helps mobilize fat from storage and makes more fat available for energy.

It also promotes the transport of certain essential amino acids inside muscle cells to stimulate muscle growth. Many of the effects of exercise in increasing muscle mass and decreasing body fat are mediated by growth hormone. In a study at Louisiana State University College of Medicine in Shreveport, research-ers found that oral supplementation with glutamine dramatically elevated growth hormone levels. Nine healthy volunteers (ages 32 to 64) were given 2 grams of glu-tamine over a 20-minute period, 45 minutes following breakfast. Blood samples taken every half hour over 90 minutes revealed a 430 percent hike in growth hormone levels. Theoretically, supplementing with glutamine may help you build and maintain muscle tissue, particularly if you exercise regularly. The research into the glutamine/growth hormone connection is preliminary, but promising nonetheless.7Glutamine may aid in fat loss.Some research hints that supplementing with glutamine can curb the desire for sug-ary foods — an excess of which leads to fat gain . For these reasons, glutamine may turn out to be an important amino acids dieters and exercisers who need to curb their desire for fat-forming sweets.

Between 200 mg and one gram of glutamine can be taken with water 30 minutes before meals to lessen the desire for sugary foods.8 Supplementing with glutamine.Clearly, glutamine has numerous benefits for any athlete who wants to maximize performance, muscle repair, and immunity. Generally, a protein-rich training diet such as that recommended by the Parrillo Nutrition Program™ should prevent your glutamine levels from dipping too low. However, supplemental glutamine provides extra insur-ance, plus a windfall of other benefits. What’s more, if you’re the victim of frequent colds or infections, consider supplementing with this amino acid . Each capsule in our Ultimate Amino Formula™ contains 103 milligrams of glu-tamine. We recommend that you take two or more capsules of this supplement with each meal . That should supply a gram or more daily – which is appropriate for athletes and active individuals. We also add extra glutamine to our Hi-Protein™ powder and Optimized Whey™ protein powders. Both heat and acid destroy glutamine, so you should not take it with hot or acidic foods, such as vinegar.Glutamine supplementation is well toler-ated. Glutamine safety studies have been conducted using healthy volunteers who took doses of 0.75 gram per 2.2 (1 kilogram) of body weight. No side effects occurred at those doses .People with liver or kidney disease should not supplement with glutamine, however, because it can aggravate these conditions and interfere with their treatment .

References

1 .Miller, A .L . 1999 . Therapeutic con-siderations of l-glutamine: a review of the literature. Alternative Medicine Review 4: 239-248; Antonio, J, et al.1999. Glutamine: a potentially useful supplement for athletes. Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology 24: 1-14 .

2. Walsh, NP, et al. 1998. Glutamine, ex-ercise and immune function. Sports Medicine 26: 177-191 .

3 . Tuttle, D . 1997 . Glutamine: athletic benefits times three. Let’s Live, September, 71-73 .

4 . Tuttle, D . 1997 . Glutamine: athletic benefits times three. Let’s Live, September, 71-73 .

5. Castell, LM. 1996. Does glutamine have a role in reducing infections in athletes?” European Journal of Applied Physiology 73: 488-490 .

6. Varnier, M, et al. 1995. Stimulatory ef-fect of glutamine on glycogen accumulation in human skeletal muscle. American Journal of Physiology 269: E309-E315.

7. Welbourne, T. 1995. Increased plasma bicarbonate and growth hormone after an oral glutamine load. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 61: 1058-1061.

8. Greenwood-Robinson, M. 1998. Natural Weight Loss Miracles. New York: Perigee Books.9 . Editor . 1994 . Glutamine: the essential non-essential amino acid. Executive Health’s Good Health Report, July, 1-2.

Bulletin #98 – Immuno-Nutrition

No serious bodybuilder, athlete, or exerciser wants to be sidelined by the cold, flu, or oth-er pesky infection. But it happens - and for various reasons. One has to do with the po-tentially “dark side” of exercise: In certain circumstances, exercise can suppress your immune system, which is your defense against infections and illness, by altering hormonal and biochemical functions in the body. Not to worry, though: In most situa-tions, exercise does the opposite. It enhances your immune system . But what of those cases where exer-cise impairs immune defenses?According to scientific research, these can occur under the following cir-cumstances1: • You’re under mental stress. •  You’re undernourished.   (Re-search indicates athletes consume about 25 percent fewer calories than they need, leading to deficiencies of many essential nutrients.) 2 • You exercise in a carbohydrate-depleted state (this increases the circula-tion of stress hormones in your body, plus harms immune-protective substances in the body). • You’ve attempted quick weight loss through caloric deprivation.

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You’ve practiced improper hy-giene.The good news is that you can protect yourself from infections with improved nu-trition and lifestyle practices. Here’s a look at how:1. Supplement with extra carbsSupplementation with carbohydrate beverages - be-fore, during, and after exercise - has been shown to strength-en immune responses . For example, it reduces levels of the hormone cortisol in blood. That’s good, since cortisol suppresses immune response . Carbo-hydrate supple-mentation also appears to protect various types of immune cells from weakening .3 If you’re on the Parrillo Nutri-tion Program™ a good supplement choice is our ProCarb™ For-mula, which can be used before, during, and after a workout.2. Consume whey protein supple-mentsResearch shows that whey protein diets in-crease the amount of glutathione in body tissues. Gluta-thione is a peptide (an amino acid de-rivative) that is involved in strengthening immunity. The elevation of glutathione has been shown to inhibit the development of several types of tumors, ac-cording to numerous studies .4Whey protein is found in the follow-ing products Optimized Whey Protein™, Hi-Protein Powder™, 50/50 Plus Pow-der™, Parrillo Sports Nutrition Bars™, Parrillo Protein Bars™, and Parrillo Energy Bars™.3.

Beware of the “overtraining myth.”“Overtraining” refers to poor perfor-mance in training and competition, and its symptoms include fatigue, frequent illness, disturbed sleep, and moodiness.5Overtraining, however, is simply “un-derrecovery” or “undereating” - not taking in enough nutrients to fully recover from your workouts. If ample nutrients are not provided, intense workouts won’t do much good. But once you get in the habit of mak-ing your nutrition as intense as your training, your workouts will be much more produc-tive, and you’ll see results much quicker.Make sure you remain in a calorie surplus - that is, eating ample calories and taking in supplemental nutrients to support your energy needs throughout the day . Fol-low a high-calorie nutrition program, and you should have enough energy stamina to blast through any workout, regardless of how long or intense it is. You’ll also have enough recuperative power to sustain you from workout to workout, without any com-promise of energy or immune function.4.

Take antioxidantsAntioxidants are nutrients found in foods and supplements that protect the body from the onslaught of disease-causing free radicals. Free radical damage has been implicated in diseases such as cancer and heart disease .Fortunately, free radicals aren’t al-lowed to do their bad deeds without being policed. They’re apprehended by the antioxi-dant nutrients, which include vitamins A, C, E, beta-carotene, and certain minerals and enzymes . These nutrients simply donate an electron to a free radical but without chang-ing into a radical itself. This action “neutral-izes,” or stops the dangerous multiplication of still more free radicals.  Supplementing with antioxidant nutri-ents has been found in research to help pro-tect the body against age-related diseases. You get vitamins A and E by eating a diet rich in vegetables and whole grains. Vitamin A, in particular, is found in yellow and or-ange foods, such as yams - a bodybuilding staple. Nutritionists feel that our diets don’t supply all the vitamin E needed for good health.

Thus, supplementation of vitamin E is recommended .By following the Parrillo Nutrition Program™ and supplementing with the Parrillo Essential Vitamin Formula™ and the Parrillo Mineral-Electrolyte Formula™ you supply your body with the antioxidant vitamins and minerals it needs for good health .5. Try arginineArginine is considered a non-essential amino acid, meaning the body can syn-thesize it from proteins and other nutrients . Despite the fact that arginine is labeled non-essential, it has a number of important functions in the body, including the fortifica-tion of the immune system. In studies with animals and humans, arginine has been found to improve wound healing and bolster immune responses, plus reduce the incidence of infection following surgery.6,7Arginine has other duties, as well. It is required to manufacture creatine, an impor-tant chemical in the muscles that provides the energy for contractions. In addition, Arginine apparently helps prevent the body from breaking down protein in muscles and organs to repair itself when injured. Meat, poultry, and fish are good sources of arginine, as are numerous supplements, including our Enhanced GH Formula™ and our Ultimate Amino Formula™. 6. Get in the zinc syncZinc has far-reaching roles in the body.

For example, it helps absorb vitamins; break down carbohydrates; and regulate the growth and development of reproductive organs . Zinc is also an important immune-boosting mineral, involved in making su-peroxide dismutase (SOD), an antioxidant enzyme that inactivates certain free radicals. Zinc, however, can be depleted by pro-longed, high-intensity exercise if you’re poorly nourished. Because zinc is required for the activity of several enzymes involved in energy metabolism, reductions in zinc concentrations in muscle may lead to muscle fatigue .8 The best sources of zinc are lean proteins, whole grains, and mineral supple-ments. Zinc is one of the minerals found in our Mineral-Electrolyte Formula™.7. Manage athletic stressHard-training bodybuilders and ath-letes can succumb to the immune-weaken-ing effects of stress just like anyone else. Here are some ways to pre-vent this9:• Vary your train-ing routine to avoid mo-notony.• Space your compe-titions appro-priately so as to not place undue bur-den on your recovery and immune re-sponses.• Practice stress reduction strategies such as relaxation if you’re continually stressed out over competition.• Get adequate rest and recovery.• Reduce environmental stress by limiting the time you train in heat, cold, humidity, or polluted air.• Practice good hygiene to limit the transmission of contagious illnesses.• Get regular medical check-ups if you have recurrent infections.

References

1.Nieman, D.C. 1997. Exercise immu-nology: practical applications. International Journal of Sports Medicine 18: S91-S100.

2.Venkatraman, J.T., et al. 2000. Dietary fats and immune status in athletes: clinical implications . Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 32: S389-S395.Immuno-Nutrition

3.Nieman, D.C. 1999. Nutrition, exer-cise, and immune system function. Clinics in Sports Medicine 18: 537-548 .

4 .Bounous, G ., et al . Whey proteins in cancer prevention. Cancer Letter 57: 91-94 .

5.MacKinnon, L.T. 2000. Special fea-ture for the Olympics: effects of exercise on the immune system: overtraining effects on immunity and performance in athletes. Im-munology and Cell Biology 78: 502-509 .

6.Barbul, A., et al. 1990. Arginine enhances wound healing and lymphocyte immune responses in humans . Surgery 108: 331-336 .

7.Evoy, D. 1998. Immunonutrition: the role of arginine. Nutrition 14: 611-617.

8.Cordova, A. 1995. Behaviour of zinc in physical exercise: a special references to immunity and fatigue. Neuroscience and Biobehavorial Reviews 19: 439-445

9.Gleeson, M. 2000. The scientific basis of practical strategies to maintain the immunocompetence in elite athletes. Exer-cise Immunology Review 6: 75-101

Bulletin #87 – Build Muscle While Simultaneously Stripping Off Body Fat–Part 1

With summertime fast approaching, shedding any excess fat you might have put on over the winter is a hot topic. How would you like to get into super shape by summer? Now is the time to start. There are specific strategies of diet, exercise, and supplementa-tion that maximize fat loss while retaining hard-earned muscle. When I use the word “diet” I’m NOT referring to classical “low calorie” diets. Restricting calories will work over the short term but always fails in the long run. The body has specific defense mechanisms in place to defend against body weight loss (specifi-cally fat stores) and these biologic mechanisms are triggered when a drastic reduction of calories oc-curs. During severe caloric restriction you lose as much muscle as fat - and this bodybuilding nightmare reduces the metabolic rate like slamming into a wall. It aslo brings fat loss to a screeching halt. Reduced caloric intake primes your enzymes and hormones to preferentially replenish fat depots after normal caloric intake is resumed.

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Rather than restricting calories and call into play the body’s starvation response, we need to work with our bod-ies, giving them the nutrients and energy they require - but in a clever way that pro-motes fat loss while retaining hard-earned gym muscle . There is no magic here and it’s really not too complicated once you know what to do.The single best move you can make - if you want to lose fat and gain muscle - is to purchase the Parrillo Performance Nutrition Manual. This amazing book dis-cusses my philosophy and introduces you to the method by which you can make it all happen. Food is the foundation of good nutrition and you will derive the maximum benefit from your supplements and training only if they are combined with a proper and plentiful diet of wholesome foods. The foundation of our diet is based on the idea that in order to maximize fat loss you need adequate amounts of protein. Protein helps prevent muscle loss while you are losing fat and protein generates a hormonal and thermodynamic milieu that is optimal for fat loss.

Normally I recommend protein consumption of around 1.5 grams per pound of body weight per day. During a serious fat loss program I would suggest you increase that: take in up to two grams or more of protein per pound of body weight, per day. To avoid increasing your caloric intake while increasing your protein consumption reduce your starchy carbohydrate intake by an equivalent amount of calories. Exchange starch calories for protein calories and you will jump-start the fat loss process. For example, if you weigh 200 pounds and normally consume 200 grams of protein per day, to facilitate fat loss while minimiz-ing muscle loss, you would increase your protein intake to 400 grams per day and decrease your starch intake by 200 grams per day to compensate. Since a gram of protein and a gram of carbohydrates generate the same caloric amount, 4 calories per gram, the net result is no change in the total amount of calories you consume. Our research and knowledge gleaned in preparing some of the best bodybuilders in the world indicate that you benefit tremendously by tilting the ratio of calories contributed by protein and away from carbohydrate. Detailed information about how to precisely adjust this ratio is provided in the Parrillo Nutri-tion Manual. Upping protein has several metabolic effects. Increased protein reduces insulin levels. Insulin is not a bad thing and is required for many vital functions but the problem is that too much insulin blocks the use of fat as an energy source . And that is a bad thing.Carbohydrates stimu-late insulin release and by reducing the amount we take the brakes off the fat-burn-ing process.

This is why low carb/high protein diets are so popular these days . Another consequence of increasing the protein-carbohydrate ratio has to do with thermodynamics. Every time you eat a meal a certain percentage of the calo-ries are lost as body heat during the process of digestion and metabolism. This is called the thermic effect of feeding, or TEF. Whatever calories are lost as body heat are no longer available for storage as fat. These calories are no longer available for use as fuel by the body to perform its work and the body is forced to rely on stored fat for fuel. This procedure automatically promotes fat loss without reducing calories or lowering the metabolic rate. The TEF for dietary fat is 2-3%. This means 2-3% of the fat calories you eat will be lost as body heat during the process of digestion and metabolism. Under conditions of normal caloric consumption the rest of these calories are retained as body fat. The TEF for carbohydrate is 8%, while the TEF for protein is 25%. This means that 25% of the calories you consume as protein “go up in smoke” before they can be used as fuel to perform work - or be stored as fat. That’s a good thing. Protein’s high TEF makes it roughly 23% better than fat insofar as TEF efficiency.

An-other benefit of increased pro-tein intake during weight loss is that protein reduces the loss of muscle tissue. Usually (but not always) when you lose fat you lose some muscle as well. By increasing protein intake we minimize this undesirable result. Why? Protein, in addi-tion to having a high TEF also provides essential amino acids that muscle needs to maintain itself. The higher the protein intake the more likely the hard dieting athlete has of retaining muscle mass throughout the process . By increasing protein, reducing fat intake and lower-ing starchy carbohydrates, we minimize muscle loss and end up leaner and more muscular as a result. We “trick” the body into burning fat as fuel and keep our metabolic rate elevated.Good protein sources include skinless chicken or turkey breast, egg whites and most fish. Our Nutrition Manual includes a food scale and a nutrition composition table listing the nutrient breakdown of all the foods you should be eating. Many people have trouble eating enough protein in food form so we manufacture two excellent protein powders, Optimized Whey™ and Hi-Protein™. Each supplies 31-33 grams of pure protein per serving.

This is the way top bodybuilders, strength and professional athletes ingest high amounts of “clean” protein without having to eat and cook all that food. Parrillo Performance Hi-Protein™ Powder and Optimized Whey™ Protein are both ideal for this application. Good starchy carbohydrate sources include oatmeal, corn, peas, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, le-gumes, and brown rice. Examples of fibrous vegetables include lettuce, spinach, squash, zucchini, spinach, greens, green beans, broc-coli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. See the Nutrition Manual for a comprehensive list of preferred foods as well as their indi-vidual nutritional profiles.A common misconception is that when you want to lose fat you should shift your weight training from training heavy to training with lighter weights for high reps. This is a big mistake and has no basis in physiology . The reasoning commonly pre-sented is that you’ll burn more calories if you train lighter, longer and for higher reps: this might be true but it is irrelevant. Weight lifting doesn’t burn many calories no matter how you do it and by training for high reps you may burn a few more calories but not enough to notice. Weight lifting is an an-aerobic exercise fueled almost exclusively by carbohydrates. Fat cannot be used as an anaero-bic fuel. It can only be oxidized in an “aerobic” metabolism. Whatever few extra calories you might burn by training with high reps will be supplied by carbs anyway.

The main issue is how do we maintain muscle mass while shedding fat? Intense training with heavy weights provides the stimulus necessary to increase muscle mass - and is also the best stimulus to main-tain muscle mass while you’re losing fat. Your body will adapt to heavy training by increasing muscle mass. If you back off on the intensity of your training, or the amount of weight you lift, your body will realize it no longer needs hypertrophied muscles and you will experi-ence varying degrees of muscle wasting.To promote fat loss, add or increase your aerobic (cardiovascular) exercise. Aerobic exercise is fueled in large part by fat, especially while on a reduced carbohy-drate diet. If you couple aerobics with a low fat diet whatever fat you use to fuel your aerobic exercise must be derived from stored body fat. A good rule of thumb is to keep weight training hard and heavy as usual, but double your aerobic exercise. Thirty minutes of aerobics in the morning before breakfast and another 30 minutes before bed works very well for most people. The advantage of doing aerobics before breakfast is at that time of day glycogen stores are at the lowest level and more energy will be derived from stored body fat.Use the protein powder as needed to obtain your required number of protein grams. Use CapTri® if you are going low in carbs and feel a loss of energy or strength.

The proper way to use CapTri® in our shape-up scenario is as a replacement for calories derived from conventional fat or starch. Replace the equivalent number of calories from CapTri®, which has a very high TEF and has almost no capacity to be retained as body fat. It is used-up, almost immediately as an energy source (as rapidly as glucose) while having little effect in terms of increas-ing insulin levels. Unlike conventional fats, CapTri® is not stored as body fat and unlike carbohydrates CapTri® does not block the use of body fat as energy. It is an ideal energy source to use while losing fat.You may also want to consider our Muscle Amino Formula™ and Advanced Lipotropic Formula™. Muscle Amino Formula™ provides the ideal balance of branched chain amino acids (BCAAs), leu-cine, isoleucine, and valine. These amino acids are used as fuel by muscle cells and supplementing the BCAAs has been shown to decrease muscle catabolism. This is a high-tech product that can help you maintain muscle mass while losing fat, resulting in a leaner, more muscular physique. Advanced Lipotropic Formula provides l-carnitine along with several other nutrients required for fat metabolism. L-carnitine works as a transporter molecule to shuttle fat into mitochondria, the tiny furnaces inside cells where fat is burned. I hope this article spurs you into action. Hopefully, by the time the summer arrives you will have a total physi-cal makeover. Best of luck!

References

1. Nelson KM, Weinsier RL, James LD, Darnell B, Hunter G, and Long CL . Effect of weight reduction on energy expen-diture, substrate utilization, and the thermic effect of food in moderately obese women. AM. J. Clin. Nutr. 55: 924-933, 1992.

2. Levin BE and Sullivan AC. Regu-lation of thermogenesis in obesity. Novel Approaches and Drugs for Obesity, Sullivan AC and Garattini S, Eds. p. 159-180. John Libbey and Co. Ltd., 1985.

3. Kern et al. The effects of weight loss on the activity and expression of adipose tis-sue lipoprotein lipase in very obese humans. New Engl. J. Med. 322: 1053, 1990.

4. Baba N, Bracco EF, and Hashim SA . Enhanced thermogenesis and di-minished deposition of fat in response to overfeeding with diet containing medium chain triglyceride. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 35: 678-682, 1982 .

5. Bach AC and Babayan VK. Me-dium chain triglycerides: an update. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 36: 950-962, 1982.

6. de Castro JM, Paullin SK, and DeLugas GM. Insulin and glucagon as determinants of body weight set point and microregulation in rats. J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol. 92: 571-579, 1978.

7. Mabrouk GM, Helmy IM, Thampy KG, and Wakil SJ. Acute hormonal control of acetyl-CoA carboxylase: the roles of insulin, glucagon, and epinephrine. J. Biol. Chem . 265: 6330-6338, 1990 .

8 . Westphal SA, Gannon MC, and Nuttall FQ. Metabolic response to glucose ingested with various amounts of protein. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 52: 267-272, 1990.

9. Hill JO, Peters JC, Yang D, Sharp T, Kaler M, Abumrad N, and Greene HL. Thermogenesis in humans during overfeed-ing with medium chain triglycerides. Metab. 38: 641-648, 1989 .

10. Flatt JP. Dietary fat, carbohydrate balance, and weight maintenance: effects of exercise. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 45: 296-306, 1987 .

11. Leibel RL, Rosenbaum M, and Hirsch J. Changes in energy expenditure resulting from altered body weight. N. Eng. J. Med. 332: 621-628, 1995.

12. Piatti PM, Monti LD, Magni F, Fermo I, Baruffaldi L, Nasser R, Santam-brogio G, Librenti MC, Galli-Kienle M, Pontiroli, and Pozza G. Hypocaloric high-protein diet improves glucose oxidation and spares lean body mass: comparison to hypocaloric high-carbohydrate diet. Metab. 43: 1481-1487, 1994 .

13 . Astrup A, Buemann B, Western, Toubro S, Raben A, and Christensen NJ. Obesity as an adaptation to a high-fat diet: evidence from a cross-sectional study. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 59: 350-355, 1994.

14. Horton TJ, Drougas H, Brachey A, Reed GW, Peters JC, and Hill JO. Fat and carbohydrate overfeeding in humans: different effects on energy storage. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 62: 19-29, 1995.

15. Swinburn B and Ravussin E. Energy balance or fat balance? Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 57: 766S-771S, 1993.

16 . Astrup A . Dietary composition, substrate balances and body fat in subjects with a predisposition to obesity. Int. J. Obe-sity 17: S32-S36, 1993 .

17. Miller WC, Lindeman AK, Wal-lace J, and Niederpruem M. Diet composi-tion, energy intake, and exercise in relation to body fat in men and women. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 52: 426-430, 1990.

18. Hill JO, Peters JC, Reed GW, Schlundt DG, Sharp T, and Greene HL . Nutrient balance in humans: effects of diet composition. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 54: 10-17, 1991 .

Bulletin #82 – Rest to Grow

Rest and recuperation are critical ele-ments if your desire is to be successful in bodybuilding. Everyone needs rest but athletes, bodybuilders and people who have occupations that involve hard physi-cal work need more rest than sedentary people. There are different categories of rest. One quantifiable type is the rest interval between sets. How much time do you allow before commencing the next set? A second type of rest is the rest interval between training sessions? How long before you train the same muscle again? Then there is sleep: how long do you sleep each night and are you getting enough quality sleep? Use different rest intervals between sets to elicit different muscular effects.

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The length you choose will trigger a different physiological effect. If you want to get cut-up and lean you would naturally and correctly gravitate towards a focused and fast-type of workout style. If your goal is to increase your muscle mass you will need to increase your strength. Increased strength occurs when additional pound-age is handled or more reps are per-formed. In order to handle heavier weight or perform more reps per set you need to be totally recovered from the previous set. Allow plenty of time between sets when you are tackling the big weights. Heavy, compound exercise movements, those which involve the movement of two or more joints to push the weight to completion: i.e. squats, bench presses, rows, cleans, overhead presses, deadlifts, etc., will require more recovery time between sets than isolation exercises like curls or deltoid raises . Again, this is com-mon sense stuff but basic concepts need to be repeated periodically. Weight training is incredibly intense exercise and within seconds of the com-mencement of a heavy set, energy re-serves are depleted and waste products begin to accumulate(1-4). Creatine phos-phate serves as an energy donor and helps to maintain the supply of ATP, the molecule used by muscles to power con-tractions.

ATP is rapidly depleted and strength fades as a heavy set proceeds, muscular contractions soon stop alto-gether. During the rest interval between sets ATP and creatine phosphate stores are repleted. Supplementation with Creatine Monohydrate can help the entire deple-tion-regeneration process as it increases intracellular Creatine pools(5-6). Supple-ment with our Creatine Monohydrate Formula™ and you will get a better train-ing effect. What is the amount of time to rest be-tween training sessions? Some people do best by training each muscle group once a week, but training it very hard. Others get better results by training a particular muscle two or in some instances even three times a week. One key factor is your strength level. As you get stronger and lift heavier weights it takes longer to recover. Many experienced bodybuilders like to train each muscle group once a week for this reason. Beginners do much bet-ter by training each muscle two or three times weekly. After all, a man who bench presses 500 for reps and does forced reps and negatives will need a lot longer to recover than a rookie handling 100×5 in the same exercise.

Like most everything about training, variation is the name of the game. You could develop a two-day a week routine, a three-day routine, or a six-day routine. Variety is the spice of life and the way we keep progressing. Same-ness equates to stagnation. The question is often asked of me, when should I take a day off? What is the strategy behind rest and recuperation? What is the relationship between exercise, nutrition, rest and muscle growth? Gener-alizations are dangerous since everyone is different and circumstances are never the same. In addition to weight training, a Parrillo-trained bodybuilder needs to do aerobics on a regular and systematic basis. Pre-contest bodybuilders will do aerobics twice a day in addition to regular weight training. This is a lot of work, par-ticularly since we insist the athlete train intensely whatever the discipline. Our rule of thumb is that you should take off the least amount of days you need in or-der to recuperate. If you are eating prop-erly and plentifully and getting plenty of sleep at night you can train harder, longer, heavier and more often. You hear a lot of talk on how to avoid over-training but often this is an excuse for laziness.

Over training can be avoided if you take in lots of quality calories and get plenty of deep, restful sleep. In fact, at Parrillo, if an athlete thinks they are overtraining we advise that they up their calories rather than cut back on the weight training or aerobic activity. It is tough to make progress by exercising less. If you are not making good gains and feel zapped and tired, try increasing your calories and adding another hour of sleep to your nightly allotment. Make sure you are training intensely enough to stimulate growth. What is intense enough? Push-ing the envelope and upping poundage or weights every session. Push hard and make gains, then refuel and rest. Another key recovery factor is the characteristic of the muscle itself. Large muscles need more time to recover be-tween workouts. Because big muscles are stronger you can lift more poundage and are subjected to greater stress you need longer to recover. You might find that your arms recover faster than your legs, for ex-ample. Or your triceps recover quicker than your lower back. Be aware of these muscular phenomena when scheduling your sessions. Always try to get enough sleep. If you are unable to sleep optimally your recovery will suffer and you won’t be able to train each muscle group as fre-quently. Stress can be a definite detriment to recovery. Emotional stress is a very real factor as is illness.

During stress your body produces cortisol, which helps you through the stress but has the unfortunate side effect of breaking down muscle. Cor-tisol is a catabolic hormone that breaks down muscle tissue so that the protein can be used as fuel. Illness reduces your ability to recover as your body devotes its energy to fighting the sickness rather than repairing muscle tissue. If you have a cold and don’t feel too bad, then go ahead and train. But if you have a fever or are too sick to work take a few days off from the gym . Nutrition plays an absolutely central role in the recovery process. The foods you eat supply you with the building blocks the body needs to repair itself. If you are training intensely and getting enough sleep but not eating right, then your growth potential will be severely limited. You should be getting one to two grams of protein per pound of body weight every day for optimal growth and recovery(7-10). Most bodybuilders use a protein supplement as the foundation for their nutritional program. We think the best protein on the market is our Hi-Protein Powder™ or Optimized Whey Protein™. Our whey protein is fortified with extra glutamine and branched chain amino acids. In terms of recovery and growth the two most important supple-ments are protein powder and Creatine Monohydrate . Carbohydrates are needed to maintain muscle glycogen stores . When muscle glycogen is depleted, strength and endur-ance drop off markedly(1-4).

If you are no longer getting a good pump after a set, this is a sign that you are running low on glycogen. In this case, increase your carbs by using two to four scoops of Parrillo Pro-Carb™ after your workout. This is the perfect time to supplement with carbs as they will be stored as glycogen. Don’t forget to take your vitamins and minerals. I suggest six meals a day, spaced at regu-lar intervals. Each meal should include a protein source (such as lean chicken or turkey), a starch, and a fibrous vegeta-ble. Good starches include potatoes, rice, beans, and corn. Stay away from simple sugars and refined carbohydrates such as pasta or bread. Metabolically, refined car-bohydrates behave much like simple sug-ars. Also avoid milk and fruit, which are rich in sugars. Consult the Parrillo Per-formance Nutrition Manual for detailed instructions. Adequate nutrition and sleep are two critical ingredients in achieving optimal recovery. Don’t be afraid to vary and experiment with your rest intervals and training frequency. Good luck!

References

1. McArdle WD, Katch FI, and Katch VL. Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition, and Human Performance. Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia, 1991.

2. Wilmore JH and Costill DL. Physiol-ogy of Exercise and Sport. Human Kinet-ics, Champaign, IL, 1994.

3. Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, Thomas R. Baechle, editor, National Strength and Conditioning As-sociation, Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL, 1994.

4. Guyton AC. Textbook of Medical Physiology, W.B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, 1991.

5. Maughan RJ. Creatine supplementation and exercise performance. International Journal of Sport Nutrition 5: 94-101, 1995 .

6. Greenhaff PL. Creatine and its appli-cation as an ergogenic aid. International Journal of Sport Nutrition 5: S100-S110, 1995 .

7. Tarnopolsky MA, MacDougall JD, and Atkinson SA. Influence of protein intake and training status on nitrogen balance and lean mass. J Appl Physiol 64: 187-193, 1988 .

8. Lemon PWR. Influence of dietary pro-tein and total energy intake on strength improvement. Sports Sci Exch 2, 1989.

9. Celejowa I and Homa M. Food intake, nitrogen, and energy balance in Polish weight lifters during training camp. Nutr Metab 12: 259-274, 1970.

10. Laritcheva KA, Yalovaya NI, Shubin VI, and Shirnov PV. Study of energy ex-penditure and protein needs of top weight lifters. In: Nutrition, Physical Fitness and Health, eds. Pariznova J and Rogozkin VA, p. 155-163. University Park Press, Baltimore, 1978 .

Bulletin #71- Growth Hormone Physiology

Bulletin #66 – Optimizing Anabolic Drive

Over the last few years we’ve seen some real advances in the field of bodybuilding nutrition. In particular, there are now sev-eral new products which can dramatically improve the results you get from weight training. We’re constantly experimenting here with ways to produce even better re-sults and to extend those results to a wider range of athletes. The quality of the natural (drug-free) bodybuilder has exploded in the last few years, due at least in part to some very effective supplements. If you showed pictures of today’s top natural bodybuilders around a gym 10 years ago, no one would have believed that such re-sults could be achieved without steroids. It is quite possible these days to attain an amazing physique with simple nutrition, hard training and a few core supplements. In this bulletin I want to talk about the sci-ence behind some of these supplements and how to use them for best results.

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One of the most amazing and effective bodybuilding supplements ever has to be creatine monohydrate (1-5). Creatine is actually an energy supplement first and foremost, providing high energy phos-phate groups to replenish the ATP which is consumed during muscular contractions . (See our Technical Nutrition Summary on creatine at our website, www.parrillo.com, for a review on creatine and energy metabolism.) Creatine is nontoxic even in large amounts, is well-absorbed orally, and is readily taken up by muscles. There it is converted into creatine phosphate, which then serves as a donor of phosphate groups to ADP to re-generate ATP. ATP, as you know, is the immediate energy source used by muscles. So if we increase creatine levels inside muscles this will increase energy production, which translates into longer and harder workouts (1-5). Athletes using creatine report a significant increase in strength. This has been confirmed by objective trials (1-5). Creatine seems to work in two ways to increase muscle size .

First, the creatine molecule is osmotically active, which means when it is stored inside cells it at-tracts water along with it. This fills out the muscle making it bigger and harder. This effect is rather dramatic and is no-ticeable within a week or two of creatine use . Our athletes usually report a 4 to 14 pound weight gain after their first month of creatine use (depending mainly on their initial skeletal muscle mass and level of creatine stores before supplementation), which is confirmed to be lean body mass by body composition analysis. Second, creatine is effective at increasing strength and endurance during weight training (1-5). It is not unusual for an experienced lifter to improve his or her maximum lift by 5-15% or to notice an increase of 2 or 3 more reps with a 10 rep-maximum load after creatine supplementation. This places a more severe stress on the muscle which ultimately stimulates greater hypertrophy . The standard protocol for using creatine is to “load” the muscles for 5-7 days with 20 grams per day, taken as four servings of 5 grams each.

This saturates the muscles with as much creatine as they can hold . This is followed by the “maintenance” phase, which usually consists of 5 grams per day, although some of our larger bodybuilders use 10 grams per day. Creatine uptake by muscles seems to be stimulated by insulin, so it makes sense to mix creatine with a car-bohydrate. Probably your best bet is to mix it with some Pro-Carb or Optimized Whey Protein (which also is a good stimulus for insulin release) and take it after your work-out. Some people advocate taking creatine before a workout, but this doesn’t make much sense physiologically since exercise suppresses insulin. There seems to be no advantage to cycling creatine. When you stop taking creatine you simply begin to deplete your existing stores, which takes 4-8 weeks. In summary, creatine is one of the few supplements which has been proven in placebo controlled clinical trials to improve strength and exercise performance (1-5).

It also increases lean body mass. Creatine is not converted to fat or stored in fat depots, so any weight gain you experience from creatine will be lean mass. We have found the combination of Op-timized Whey Protein and creatine to be a very powerful supplement tool. This is probably a more effective supplement com-bination than anything that was available even just a few years ago. To understand why, it is important to know a few things about whey protein and amino acid me-tabolism. It turns out that the amino acid profile of whey protein is very well suited to the needs of growing muscles. Gluta-mine occupies a central position in amino acid metabolism, since it is able to donate an amino group to a variety of keto-acids to form other amino acids. As you know, proteins are long chain-like molecules and the links of the chains are the amino acids. There are 20 different amino acids found in human proteins. Twelve of these your body can make itself, and these are called “nonessential” amino acids.

The other eight are not able to be made by the body and are called “essential” amino acids because it is essential they be obtained from the diet. As a protein molecule is being built the amino acids are linked end-to-end one at a time to form a growing chain. The subcellular organelles upon which proteins are assembled are called ribosomes. If the cellular supply of one of the amino acids is depleted, then the ribosome won’t be able to find the next “link” to add to the chain and protein synthesis will stop. If the miss-ing amino acid is an essential amino acid, there’s nothing to be done. Protein synthe-sis will halt until the depleted amino acid is replenished by the diet. If however the next amino acid to be added to the chain is one which the body can manufacture itself, then protein synthesis can proceed . One of the important things about glutamine is that it serves as the donor of amino groups during the synthesis of many non-essential amino acids. Therefore it helps make sure that adequate levels of the non-essential amino acids are available for protein syn-thesis. This may explain one reason why glutamine is the most abundant free amino acid in the circulation (6).

Glutamine also plays a pivotal role in energy metabolism, believe it or not. Gluta-mine serves as the preferred fuel source for several cell types including immune cells and cells lining the intestines . During in-jury, burns, illness or other severe stresses (such as surgery), sometimes the body has to rob muscle tissue of its glutamine to serve as fuel for the intestine and the immune system. This depletes the body’s glutamine reserve which can ultimately compromise immune function. This is one of the reasons why these conditions are highly catabolic and are associated with rapid loss of lean body mass. The fasci-nating thing is that this parallels in many respects what we see in the over-training syndrome . Since your body can make glutamine from other amino acids it has traditionally been classified as a non-essential amino acid. However, during the last few years glutamine has been reclassified as a “con-ditionally essential” amino acid. This is because during times of severe stress your ability to make glutamine is unable to keep up with the demand. In these situations you need to supply additional glutamine in the diet to prevent a catabolic state.

Experi-ments in animal models have demonstrated that glutamine supplementation can result in better nitrogen balance and conservation of skeletal muscle (6). During times of severe stress, including intense exercise, glutamine reserves, particularly in skeletal muscle, are depleted (7). It is thought that intense exercise may be considered a form of stress similar to other catabolic stressors such as illness, infection, and surgery. Dur-ing both acute (short term) high intensity exercise and prolonged exercise plasma glutamine levels transiently increase (as glutamine is released from skeletal muscle) then decrease during the post-workout re-covery period. If recovery between exercise bouts is inadequate then the effects may be cumulative, and over-training has been associated with prolonged low glutamine levels which recover slowly (7). In athletes suffering from the over-training syndrome plasma glutamine levels are depressed for months or even years (7). In fact, exercise physiology scientists have been looking for a blood test to help them define some objective measure of the over-trained state.

So far the only reliable measure which has been found is the plasma glutamine level, which is depressed during over-training (8). In addition to glutamine’s central role in protein synthesis is the interesting prospect that it may also help promote glycogen storage in muscle (9). It would seem that glutamine helps preserve muscle mass during times of stress by several mechanisms . If this isn’t enough to stimulate your interest in glutamine, it has also been proven that glutamine administered orally can increase growth hormone release (10). Most interesting was that the effective dose was only two grams (10). Actually, if you think about it, we don’t care about growth hormone release per se. And it’s at this level of skepticism and questioning that you get to be a real thinker about bodybuilding nutrition. What we care about is muscle mass. The real bottom line is that glutamine increases skeletal muscle protein synthesis. Glutamine increases skeletal muscle pro-tein synthesis, and it’s effects are greater in the presence of insulin (11). Why all this talk about glutamine?

Because glutamine is probably the single most important amino acid in supporting muscular growth. It not only helps block catabolism of muscle tissue during stress but also provides an important anabolic stimulus for muscle growth. But there’s more to the story . We’re not home yet . The scientific understanding of muscle metabolism and exercise performance is probably the richest when it comes to the BCAAs - the branched chain amino acids . These are the essential amino acids leucine, isoleucine, and valine. While glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the bloodstream and free inside muscle cells, the BCAAs are the most abundant amino acids incorporated into muscle proteins. Just when you thought it was all becoming simple, it gets more complicated. The branched chains have been a favorite supplement of hard core bodybuilders for years. And finally science is ready to agree . For decades, and still even today, many people think of muscle as a structural - functional type of tissue with really no role in energy production. Well, I have news for you.

During times of stress, including severe exercise, muscle tissue can be broken down to serve as a fuel substrate, just like any other tissue of the body. Hopefully you will burn mostly fat as fuel, but you must also rely on gly-cogen, the storage form of carbohydrate. Eventually your body will also turn to protein, particularly the BCAAs, as a fuel source (the good, the bad, and the ugly). The muscle proteins are a rich source of branched chain amino acids. The problem is that muscles can actually use the BCAAs directly as fuel, so in a pinch they will can-nibalize themselves and oxidize their own proteins as a fuel source. Supplemental BCAAs are not only incor-porated into muscle proteins but can also reduce catabolism of pre-existent muscle tissue . Supplemental BCAAs are highly incorporated into muscle. The liver does not have significant amounts of the enzyme “branched chain amino transferase,” so is unable to significantly degrade the BCAAs. Muscle cells do however possess branched chain aminotransferase and are able to utilize these amino acids as fuel. (Please refer to our Technical Supplement Bulletins on our website for details and references.)

I have extensively reviewed branched chain amino acid metabolism in the past, and encourage you to review our past articles for previous information. Now I just want to add some new findings. High altitude climbing is a well known catabolic paradigm, and recent evidence demonstrates that BCAA supplementa-tion can improve protein balance under this catabolic stress (12). Although both groups of climbers, those supplemented with BCAAs and those without, showed loss of overall body weight, the BCAA group showed a surprising increase in lean body mass while simultaneously losing fat. The group without BCAAs lost both muscle and fat. Also of note, the BCAA group showed an increase in arm girth during the climb while the group without experienced a decrease in arm size. It was concluded that BCAA supplementation helped prevent muscle catabolism (12). Another new trial demonstrated a benefit from BCAA supplementation. In this study men were studied with and without BCAA supplementation dur-ing leg extension exercises (13).

It was found that supplemental BCAA helped reduce breakdown of endogenous pro-teins, at least in part by being used as fuel themselves. So the branched chains reduce catabolism of muscle protein dur-ing exercise (12). Another recent study demonstrated that BCAA supplementation increased growth hormone and testosterone levels in long distance runners (14). It is well know that the branched chains stimulate insulin secretion. Some of the newer studies also indicate an increase in growth hormone and testosterone fol-lowing BCAA administration. Also, they suppress the use of muscle proteins as fuel. In part this seems to be because they “sac-rifice” themselves for use as fuel, thereby sparing the breakdown of endogenous protein. The insulin effect probably also has something to do with this. Importantly, the BCAAs which are not oxidized as fuel are very prone to be retained by muscle and incorporated into muscle proteins . Thus they are both a powerful anabolic as well as an anti-catabolic stimulus. (Keep in mind this in not meant to be a comprehen-sive review of BCAA metabolism. This is just an update from our previous reports. Please refer to the website for more detailed information.) Well, why all this talk about glutamine and branched chain amino acids? Because whey protein is comprised of around 30% BCAAs and is also high in glutamine .

But, as usual, we’ve taken it a step further at Par-rillo. In our formulation of Optimized Whey Protein we’ve added additional branched chain aminos plus more glutamine. Plus more glycine- another anabolic amino acid which can sometimes be limiting during growth. So with Optimized Whey Protein you get an excellent base providing an exquisite amino acid profile, already rich in the branched chains and glutamine. Plus fortified with extra BCAAs and glutamine, plus glycine. It’s probably the most ana-bolic amino acid mixture available on the planet - that was our intention when we designed it. Add creatine and you’ve got a simple recipe for amazing results. So how do you sort out exactly the right supplement profile for you? Recently we unveiled 50-50 Plus, arguably the most effective post-workout supplement ever. Now we have Optimized Whey Protein. Which is right for you? Here are some simple guidelines . If you have a hard time gaining weight you probably need more carbohydrates. Carbs stimulate insulin release and nutrient storage. I have yet to meet a “hard gainer” I couldn’t cure with more calories. Carbs are the most effective nutrient for gaining lean mass, when combined with adequate protein of course. If it is difficult for you to consume enough calories to support weight gain, you should first add 50-50 Plus and creatine. If you’re still having trouble add CapTri.

CapTri is a very concentrated source of calories which has virtually no tendency to be stored as fat. Work up to two tablespoons with each meal. If you don’t like CapTri, or if you find your body type gets better results from carbs, then use Pro-Carb. Endurance athletes who are having a hard time gaining muscle or improving per-formance usually do best with Pro-Carb. They need the extra carbs because they burn so much during training. If you gain easily, and find you’re struggling to keep fat off, then you should try Optimized Whey Protein and creatine. We find that the whey protein has very little tendency to contribute to fat stores, even when consumed in large amounts. As I have discussed at length in the past, certain food types are more eas-ily converted to body fat than others. The whey protein seems to be preferentially retained as muscle with little spillage into fat stores. So during weight gain, rely on whey protein and creatine. During a fat loss cycle stick to the whey and creatine, but substitute CapTri for starchy carbs. Sounds simple, but it works. Two simple supplement programs that will put muscle on anybody who trains hard. In closing I have to emphasize the importance of intense training. It just doesn’t work without that. We’ll supply the nutrition, you supply the work.

References

1. Maughan RJ. Creatine supplementa-tion and exercise performance. Interna-tional Journal of Sport Nutrition 5: 94-101, 1995 .

2. Greenhaff PL. Creatine and its appli-cation as an ergogenic aid. International Journal of Sport Nutrition 5: S100-S110, 1995 .

3. Greenhaff PL, Casey A, Short AH, Harris AC, Soderlund K, and Hultman E. Influence of oral creatine supplementation on muscle torque during repeated bouts of maximal voluntary exercise in man. Clin. Sci . 84: 565-571, 1993 .

4. Harris RC, Viru M, Greenhaff PL, and Haltman E. The effect of oral creatine supplementation on running performance during maximal short term exercise in man. J. Physiol. 467: 74P, 1993.

5. Ernest CP, Snell PG, Mitchell TL, Rodriguez R, and Almada AL. Effect of creatine monohydrate on peak anaerobic power, capacity, and fatigue index. Med. Sci. Sports. Exerc. 26: S39, 1994.

6. Hall JC, Heel K, and McCauley R. Gluta-mine. [Review] British Journal of Surgery 83: 305-312, 1996 .

Bulletin #59 – The Ultimate Growth Combo

There are several criteria wemust consider when evaluating a nutri-tional supplement for bodybuilders. First,is there some plausible mechanism bywhich the supplement might work? Thisjust means is there some logical reasonwhy the supplement should be expectedto produce results. For example, we mightexpect protein supplements to be helpfulbecause they provide the building blocksthe body needs to build more muscletissue. Second, is the supplementactually absorbed by the body anddelivered to the site where it’s sup-posed to act? If your supplement isnot absorbed into the bloodstreamand carried to muscle cells, it prob-ably won’t do much. Third, does itproduce its effects at the recom-mended usage level, or is the amountused too small to really be effective.And fourth, the most important cri-teria is, does the supplement actu-ally produce the desired effect bet-ter than a placebo or control. Thefirst few criteria are really asking,“CAN the supplement work?”

Parrillo Performance
800-344-3404 

Andthe last question is asking, “Does thesupplement REALLY work and dowhat it’s supposed to do?”Unfortunately, few scientificallycontrolled studies have been performedto specifically evaluate how well nutritionalsupplements work to help bodybuilders.Many of the supplements out on the mar-ket have never been tested to see if theyreally work. Some of them have been,however. A recent article in the Journalof Applied Physiology (1) tested the ef-fects of either a carbohydrate supplementalone (CHO), a protein supplement (PRO),or else a mixture of carbohydrate and pro-tein (CHO-PRO) to see how the varioussupplements affected the levels of ana-bolic hormones in healthy drug-freeweight lifters. In addition to merely pro-viding the raw materials for buildingmuscle tissue and storing glycogen, foodsand supplements can affect the hormonalenvironment of the body. In this maga-zine I have written extensively about howto use food to control various hormoneand enzyme levels to create an anabolicenvironment in the body where nutrientsare shuttled to the lean compartment(muscle) while drawing on stored bodyfat as an energy source.

This concept of“nutrient partitioning” amounts to eatingin such a way that the food you eat isused to build muscle tissue while yourbody fat is burned as a fuel source. Tome, this is the essence of bodybuildingnutrition. This works because many ofthe body’s anabolic and catabolic hor-mones are significantly influenced by diet,and it is the levels of these hormones thatdetermines to a great degree whether thecalories you eat will be stored as fat orturned into muscle.At Parrillo Performance, we doa lot of “end point” testing of our supple-ments before a formulation is released onthe market. By this I mean we try variousformulations of supplements onelite, competitive bodybuilders tofind out what actually works. Thecompetitive bodybuilder is the ul-timate research lab for studyingbodybuilding supplements, be-cause any little change in his or herphysique is readily apparent. Wefollow the athlete’s weight, leanbody mass, percent body fat,strength on the core lifts, overall“look” and hardness, plus subjec-tive information such as energylevel, training intensity, and how heor she feels.

By making smallchanges in formulations we can seehow these affect size, strength,conditioning, endurance, and en-ergy level. This is really results-driven testing, because the reason peoplecome to Parrillo Performance is for re-sults. Sometimes  (often times, actually)we figure out what works “out in the field”with real bodybuilders before the scien-tists back in the labs have figured out whyor how it works. It’s always gratifyingwhen the biochemical research explainssome of the results we’ve seen in the gym,and that’s the case with this paper.It has been well established thatweight lifting causes an increase in growth hormone and, to a lesser extent, testoster-one (2,3,4). This is no doubt part of theway in which resistance exercise bringsabout muscle growth. The question is, canwe use any nutritional “tricks” to help thisprocess along, above and beyond simplyproviding the raw materials needed tomake more muscle protein? In fact, wecan use supplements to improve the ana-bolic milieu to further enhance musclegrowth. The most obvious way to im-prove the situation is to increase insulinlevels, which acts as a potent stimulus toincrease muscle amino acid uptake andactivate the protein synthetic machinery.Exercise tends to lower insulin levels,which is great because this promotes fatburning during exercise, but then afterexercise during the recovery period wewant to activate insulin to take advantageof its anabolic properties. This is one timewhen we don’t have to worry so muchabout insulin causing fat accumulation, fortwo reasons.

First, right after training themuscle cells are hungry for nutrients andthey will gobble up all the calories beforethe fat cells can get them. Second, afterexercise glycogen stores are depleted soany carbohydrates you eat at that time willbe stored as glycogen rather than beingconverted to fat.Carbohydrate alone or in combi-nation with protein (but not protein alone)serves as a potent stimulus for insulin re-lease (5,6). Furthermore, we know thatprotein feeding stimulates growth hor-mone and IGF-1. The tension placed onmuscle during weight training somehowactivates protein synthesis and inducesmuscular hypertrophy (by some mecha-nism not yet completely understood) —the question is can we use supplementsto enhance this process? If so, do thesupplements work by favorably modulat-ing hormone levels to create a more ana-bolic environment?To investigate this issue a groupof researchers at The Exercise Physiol-ogy and Metabolism Laboratory at the Uni-versity of Texas used a group of ninehealthy drug-free weight lifters. Theiraverage age was 25, average weightaround 180 pounds at 11.8% body fat,and all had at least 2 years of weight train-ing experience.

This is important becauseit means we can apply their results to realbodybuilders, which is a problem in manystudies which use novice trainers and lowintensity programs. The subjects weregiven four different supplements to test:carbohydrate (CHO) which was a mix-ture of dextrose and maltodextrin, pro-tein (PRO) which was a mixture of milkprotein isolate and whey protein, carbo-hydrate plus protein (PRO-CHO) whichwas 70% carbohydrate and 30% protein,or else plain water, which was used asthe control. This is also good news be-cause the protein and carbohydratesupplements used are virtually identical tothe most popular protein and carb supple-ments used by bodybuilders. The CHOsupplement was given at a dose of 1.5grams CHO per kg of body weight, whichworks out to be about 120 grams of carbs,or 480 calories on average per supplementdose. Again, this is good news becausethis is a realistic amount of supplementand we should expect to see an effect, ifthere is one. The other supplements (PROand CHO-PRO) were given at equal ca-loric loads to the CHO supplement, so wecan directly compare the effects of thedifferent formulas.

The subjects performed high in-tensity training sessions going to failurebetween 8-10 reps on 8 core exercises.Then immediately after exercise and again2 hours after the exercise session the ath-letes were given one of the supplementformulas. Before exercise and for the nexteight hours after exercise the athletes’blood was monitored for glucose, test-osterone, growth hormone, IGF-1, andinsulin levels. Thirty minutes after theexercise and the supplement ingestion,plasma glucose levels in the CHO andCHO-PRO groups were significantly el-evated compared to the PRO and controlgroups. Another supplement dose wasgiven two hours after exercise, but thisdid not seem to further affect blood glu-cose levels. Going along with this, plasmainsulin was significantly increased in theCHO and CHO-PRO groups, and to alesser extent in the PRO supplement. Thecombination CHO-PRO supplement ac-tually increased insulin levels to a greaterdegree than CHO alone. We might nothave expected this, since the CHO supple-ment alone increased blood glucose lev-els greater than the combination supple-ment, but keep in mind that protein alsoserves as an insulin stimulus. So eventhough carbohydrate alone increases bloodsugars levels more, adding some proteinto it results in a higher insulin level. So farwe can already draw some very impor-tant conclusions.First, when you take a supple-ment after training you definitely want toinclude some carbohydrate in it, ratherthan just using a pure protein powder. Thisresults in a much higher insulin level thanprotein alone, and this will help drive theamino acids into the muscle. Second, mix-ing protein along with the carbohydratefurther boosts insulin levels beyond carbsalone, which is exactly the effect we want here. We’re not too worried about carbsspilling over into fat stores because rightafter a workout glycogen levels are de-pleted, so the carbs will be used to re-plenish glycogen and will not be convertedinto fat. Third, taking a second supple-ment dose 2 hours after training has mini-mal effect on hormone levels.

The bigbenefit seems to come from taking a re-spectable dose (120 grams in this study)of the supplement as soon as possible af-ter training, and certainly within 30 min-utes after you finish your workout. I sug-gest taking a shaker bottle to the gym withyou and drinking your supplement at thegym as soon as you finish training.Growth hormone levels rosesharply immediately after the exercisebout but declined back to baselinewithin 2 hours after exercise. Thesupplements seemed to have no imme-diate effect on GH levels, but at 6 hoursafter exercise the GH levels were higherin the CHO and CHO-PRO groups. Itseems that the exercise itself has a big-ger short-term impact on GH releasethan the supplements, but by six hoursafter exercise the effect of the supple-ments becomes apparent. It is alsoworth mentioning that the GH increasebrought about by the exercise sessionitself was greater than the GH increaseseen at six hours post-exercise, whichwas attributed to the supplements. Thisreally comes as no surprise, since weknow that weight training is really theprime stimulus for muscle growth, notsupplements. Plasma testosterone lev-els were seen to rise sharply immedi-ately after exercise, but then within onehour declined to below pre-exerciselevels. All of the supplements resultedin testosterone levels declining belowthe value seen with water alone. Within6 hours after exercise the CHO andCHO-PRO groups had returned essen-tially to pre-exercise levels, but the PROalone was still depressed. More on thislater.What does this all mean? Weknow that the early rapid gains seen bybeginning weight trainers are primarily dueto increased motor learning (1). Thismeans training the nervous system to re-cruit more muscle fibers to fire simulta-neously. The more efficiently the nervoussystem can activate the muscle, the stron-ger the contraction. So early on we aremainly training the nervous system. It’snot unusual for a novice trainer to basi-cally double his strength in the first sixmonths of training.

After a few monthsof initial training, you likely remember hit-ting a plateau, where further increases instrength came more slowly. At this pointfurther increases in strength are moreclosely related to increased muscle massand muscle cross-sectional area (1). Sev-eral factors influence the rate of increaseof new muscle mass. These include thevolume and intensity of training, the avail-ability of adequate nutritional substratesand calories to support growth, and thehormonal environment of the muscle. Ifthe only purpose of nutrition was to sup-ply the building blocks for growth, then itwouldn’t matter that much what you ate.If, however, you want to control the hor-mones directing the anabolic drive, thistakes a more sophisticated approach. Thehormones most directly related to mus-cular growth are insulin, growth hormone,testosterone, and IGF-1. Insulin may po-tentiate muscular hypertrophy by stimu-lating amino acid uptake and protein syn-thesis by muscle. Furthermore, insulinseems to increase growth hormone levelsby inducing hypoglycemia (7). This isprobably what was happening when wesaw GH levels increased by the CHO andCHO-PRO supplements six hours afterexercise. The supplements caused an ini-tial increase in insulin levels, which af-ter a few hours resulted in hypoglyce-mia (low blood sugar) which in turnstimulated GH release.Probably the biggest surprise wasobserved with testosterone — all thesupplements seemed to decrease test-osterone levels compared to plain wa-ter. What’s up with this? Either test-osterone secretion by the testes wasdecreased, or else possibly the supple-ments caused more testosterone to becleared from the blood (maybe bymoving it inside cells) thereby result-ing in a lower blood level. To investi-gate this the authors looked at LH(lutinizing hormone) levels. LH is thestimulus for testosterone to be releasedfrom the testes, so if the supplementscaused decreased testosterone secre-tion then LH levels should be depressedas well.

They found that LH levels wereunaffected by the CHO supplement(the only one they tested for this) sug-gesting that the testosterone level wasdecreased as the result of increased re-moval of testosterone from the bloodrather than decreased secretion. Whileit remains to be proven, the authorssuggest that plasma testosterone mayhave been decreased by the supple-ments as a consequence of increasedmovement of testosterone into musclecells, where it acts to promote proteinsynthesis.A number of important conclusions can be drawn from this study. Youshould supplement with a combination ofprotein and carbohydrate after training be-cause this results in a more favorable ana-bolic hormonal environment than eitherprotein or carbohydrate alone. You shouldtake the supplement soon after training,within 15-30 minutes. A second dose ofsupplement two hours after exerciseseems to confer little additional benefit interms of altering hormone levels comparedto a single dose. The dose used here wasabout 120 grams of protein and/or carbo-hydrate. We agree that thisis an appropriate dose sizefor stimulating growthand optimizing recoveryafter training. Also,the anabolic hor-mone most respon-sive to dietary con-trol is insulin, and toa lesser degreegrowth hormone(whose secretion isstimulated mainlyby protein). Thiscomes as no sur-prise. Growth hor-mone and testoster-one are best stimu-lated by intense train-ing. This is why we need a combinationof hard training plus a carefully crafteddiet to generate optimal hormone levels tomaximize muscle growth and fat loss.Since this study came out acouple of years ago we have used this asa starting point and done some of our owntrials here at Parrillo Performance. Wehave tried various formulations on sometop level competitive bodybuilders and fit-ness athletes and have taken the idea de-scribed in this paper a few steps further.First, we found that with our athletes, whotrain harder and longer than the ones inthis study, a ratio closer to 50% protein -50% carbs works better. Top level body-builders just seem to need a little moreprotein to get that degree of muscle hard-ness we’re going for. Also, we get betterresults if we use maltodextrin without thedextrose as the carbohydrate source. Dex-trose is another name for glucose, a simplesugar. We find that our athletes can packon more muscle without gaining fat if weleave the sugar out of the formula.

Third,we have added glycine (an amino acid) tothe formula to further improve its ana-bolic effect. 50/50 Plus™ contains nosugar and no fat. We have settled on acombination of whey protein and othermilk protein isolates to generate what wefeel is an optimal amino acid profile.This new product line is called“50/50 Plus™” to reflect its compositionof about 50% protein and 50% carbs. Italso provides a good sourceof calcium and includes vi-tamins important for musclerepair and growth. We’revery proud of this newsupplement develop-ment. It’s designed spe-cifically to promote ni-trogen retention andmuscle growth. Theideal times to use it areimmediately after train-ing, as your first mealof the day to set up ananabolic hormonal en-vironment, or any timeas needed with or be-tween meals. The beautyof this product is that it is“programmed” to generate a hormonal en-vironment which results in muscle growth.Not only does it provide the raw materi-als your muscles need to grow, but it alsoprograms your hormone levels to chan-nel the nutrients into muscle and not fat.It comes in four delicious flavors: choco-late, vanilla, milk (which is great inoatmeal), and orange-cream. I suggest aserving size of 4 scoops if you are usingit as a post-workout recovery and growthsupplement, 4 scoops in place of a meal,or 2 scoops if used as a calorie boost withor between meals. I think this product isvery solid and deserves to be considereda “first line” supplement for bodybuild-ers. An excellent entry level supplementprogram would be 50/50 Plus™, Creat-ine Monohydrate, and the Essential Vita-min and Mineral- Electrolyte Formulas. Ithink you’ll find this supplement mighteasily push your growth to the next level.The work of hormonal control and nutri-ent partitioning has been done for you -all you have to do is train hard and takethe supplement and you’re guaranteed toprovide your muscles with the ultimatehormonal milieu for growth.

References

1. Chandler RM, Byrne HK, Patterson JG,and Ivy JL. Dietary supplements affectthe anabolic hormones after weight train-ing exercise. J. Appl. Physiol. 76(2): 839-845, 1994.

2. Kraemer RR, Kilgore JL, Kraemer GR,and Castracane VD. Growth hormone,IGF-1, and testosterone responses to re-sistive exercise. Med. Sci. Sports Exer-cise 24: 1346-1352, 1992.

3. Kraemer WJ, Gordon SE, Fleck SJ,Marchitelli LJ, Mello R, Dzaidos JE, FreidlK, and Harmon E. Endogenous anabolichormonal and growth factor responses toheavy resistance exercise in males and fe-males. Intl. J. Sports Med. 12: 228-235,1991.

4. Kraemer WJ, Marchitelli L, Gordon SE,Harmon E, Dziados JE, Mello R, FrykmanP, McCurry D, and Fleck SJ. Hormonaland growth factor responses to heavy re-sistance exercise protocols. J. Appl.Physiol. 69: 1442-1450, 1990.

5. Rabinowitz D, Merimee TJ, MaffezzoliR, and Burgess JA. Patterns of hormonalrelease after glucose, protein, and glucoseplus protein. Lancet 2: 454-457, 1966.

6. Zawadzki KM, Yaspelkis BB, and IvyJL. Carbohydrate-protein complex in-creases the rate of muscle glycogen stor-age after exercise. J. Appl. Physiol. 72:1854-1859, 1992.

7. Roth J, Glick S, and Valow RS.Hypoglycaemia: a potent stimulus ofgrowth hormone. Science Wash. DC 140:987-988, 1963.

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