KIRSTEN SARDELIS
2009 WOMEN'S FIGURE MEDIUM CLASS WINNEROTTAWA BODYBUILDING AND FIGURE CHAMPIONSHIP
Stay tuned for a detailed post on how we got Kirsten into winning shape in just 9 short weeks!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Kirsten Sardelis - 1st Place Women's Figure Medium - Ottawa Figure Championship
Congratulations to Kirsten Sardelis for her first place finish at the Ottawa Figure Championships held earlier this month. Kirsten placed first out of five women in the Women's Figure Medium Height class.
2009 WOMEN'S FIGURE MEDIUM CLASS WINNER
OTTAWA BODYBUILDING AND FIGURE CHAMPIONSHIP
Stay tuned for a detailed post on how we got Kirsten into winning shape in just 9 short weeks!
2009 WOMEN'S FIGURE MEDIUM CLASS WINNEROTTAWA BODYBUILDING AND FIGURE CHAMPIONSHIP
Stay tuned for a detailed post on how we got Kirsten into winning shape in just 9 short weeks!
Choosing The Right Training Program
So you’re heading to the gym and ready to rock it! But what are you going to do?
A full body workout like this:
Bench Press 3x8
Incline Dumbbell Press 3x10
Seated Barbell Press Behind The Neck 3x12
Wide Grip Pulldowns 3x10
Seated Rows 3x8
Shrugs 3x10
Squats 3x10
Leg Extensions 3x15
Leg Curls 3x12
Smith Machine Calf Raises 3x20
Seated Calf Raises 3x20
Or a workout from a body part split routine like this:
Day 1: Chest, Biceps, Triceps
Day 2: Quads, Hams, Calves,
Day 3: Back, Shoulders, Abs
Rest
Repeat
With either, you’re heading down the road to nowhere! A regular full body routine that you do every second day has the advantage of giving you more frequent stimulation to grow and get stronger, but with so many exercises and relatively low intensity you’ll quickly adapt to this workout.
There isn’t really a way to increase the stimulus without increasing the total volume through more sets, reps, or weight… and the volume is already too high to sustain a decent intensity.
Many people figure this much out on their own and progress to a body part split routine. However, the higher frequency of training stimulus afforded by full body training programs generally delivers superior results to split routines except for the most advanced (and usually steroid using) bodybuilders.
With steroids muscles grow even if they’re not being trained, and consequently hitting a body part just once or twice a week is enough stimulation to elicit a growth response.
Body part split routines recruit the lower threshold motor units which have less potential for strength and mass accumulation, although they’ll pump up pretty nice and you’ll look like you’re growing in the mirror. Unfortunately once the pump disappears you’ll be no further ahead.
If your training age is less than a year, on a body part split routine you’ll grow initially, but that growth will quickly taper off except for the genetically gifted who may continue to see gains with this type of routine. But chances are, those folks will grow and get stronger with any routine.
If you insist on using body part split routines, you’ll likely burn out or get injured frequently, precluding any significant accumulation of muscle mass. And if you don’t, then you probably
aren’t training hard enough to grow on any routine.
Enter The Full Body Split Routine
A full body workout involves all muscle groups of the body. But each muscle group can be trained with different movements, and consequently a full body split routine is a program that has multiple training days, and each training day trains the full body but with a different emphasis each time.
Obviously if your goal is to get a huge bench press, and you try to lift heavy on the bench every two days, you’re going to be in for trouble. But substituting overhead presses, pushups, dips, and various other angled pressing movements you can get a serious strength training program each and every time you hit the gym without baking any of your joints.
To set up this type of workout, we pick full body, compound movements. The general template is laid out as follows:
Full Body Split Routine Template
Main Quad or Hip Dominant Lower
(ex: Squat/Deadlift/Cleans)
Main Horizontal or Vertical Push 1
(ex: Bench Press, Military Press, Barbell Press Behind The Neck)
Supplemental Quad or Hip Dominant Lower 2 (optional)
(ex: Step-ups/Split Squats/Good Morings/Romanian Deadlifts)
Main Horizontal or Vertical Pull 1
(ex: Barbell Rows, Pull-Ups)
Horizontal or Vertical Push 2(optional)
(ex: Dips, Dumbbell Military Press, Incline Dumbbell Flyes, Suspended Push-Ups)
Horizontal or Vertical Pull 2 (optional)
(ex: Rope Face Pulls, Dumbbell Pullovers, Straight-Arm Pulldowns)
Hip Abduction or External Rotation (optional)
(ex: Sideways X-Band Walking, Seated Band-Resisted Abduction, Side-Lying Clams)
Core work (static, dynamic, bilateral, unilateral, isolateral)
(ex: Front Plank, Side Plank, Roll-outs, Leg Raises, Floorclimbers, T-Twists)
Shoulder Prehab (external rotations, internal rotations, etc…)
(ex: Side Lying External Rotations, Kneeling Band-Resisted Internal Rotations, Swiss ball IYTWA)
Below I’ve given you a sample program with three workouts, and I’ve listed which exercise each one is from the template above. With a few small exceptions, each workout fits into the template pretty well. The Kettlebell clean and push press and the Suspended Atomic Pushup are both hybrids involving upper and lower or upper and core and the same time.
Day 1 (Monday)
Squats 5x5 (Quad Dominant Lower)
Incline Dumbbell Press 4x6 (Horizontal Push 1)
Glute & Ham Raises 4x8 (Hip Dominant Lower)
Bent-Over Barbell Rows 4x10 (Horizontal Pull 1)
Weighted Side Plank 3xmaxtime (Core static)
Side Lying External Rotations 3x15 (Shoulder external rotations)
Day 2 (Wednesday)
Deadlifts 5x3 (Hip Dominant Lower)
Weighted Pushups 5x10 (Horizontal Push 1)
Split Squats 3x12 (Quad Dominant Lower)
Wide Pull-Ups 5xmax (Vertical Pull 1)
Mountainclimbers 3x20 (Core dynamic, isolateral)
Day 3 (Friday)
Kettlebell Clean & Push Press 4x6 (Hybrid – Hip Dominant Lower & Vertical Push 1)
Front Squats 4x6 (Quad Dominant Lower)
Suspended Inverted Rows 4x12 (Horizontal Pull 1)
Sideways X-Band Walk 3x12 (Hip abduction)
Suspended Atomic Push-up 3x20 (Hybrid – Horizontal Push & Core dynamic, bilateral)
As you see just because it’s in the template, we don’t necessarily do it every time. But over the course of time as you modify your program you drop one and add another. If you try to do everything from the template every single workout, it starts to look like the typical full body training program, similar in many ways to the pretty useless workout I listed at the beginning of this article.
What !? No Arms???
You may notice there’s no direct arm work listed, but if you are training both pushing and pulling exercises three times a week with the higher intensities this type of training allows, you should notice that your arms get all the training they need.
However, if you are gun-hungry, and you insist on training those arms separately, the best way to do it is to incorporate it into the template by substituting a bicep movement in place of your Horizontal or Vertical Pull 2, and substitute a triceps movement in place of your Horizontal or Vertical Push 2. Choose exercises like Dips, Close-Grip Bench Press, Bodyweight Triceps Extensions, or Skull Crushers for best results.
If you need your workouts to be as short as possible, still targeting your whole body, and insist on throwing in arm training, then choose only one horizontal or vertical pushing movement, and then do a biceps exercise in place of a horizontal or vertical pulling movement.
On the subsequent workout you switch it around and do only one horizontal or vertical pulling movement and then substitute a triceps exercise for your horizontal or vertical pushing movement.
This allows you to train push + biceps on one workout, then pull + triceps on the next. While not optimal for over all growth response, it will deliver slightly more biceps/triceps value at the expense of over all size and strength growth.
If you want to include a bit of direct shoulder work such as Incline EZ-Bar Raises or Dumbbell Bent-Over Rear Lateral Raises, substitute them for either the Horiztontal or Vertical Push 2 and the Horizontal or Vertical Pull 2.
And again, if you’re really strapped for time but feel it important to get in some direct deltoid work, make your template modifications like this:
Day 1: Horizontal or Vertical Pull + Incline EZ-Bar Raises
Day 2: Horizontal or Vertical Push + Dumbbell Bent-Over Lateral Raises
Of course you could always keep it all pushing one workout and all pulling the next such as:
Day 1: Horizontal or Vertical Pull + Dumbbell Bent-Over Rear Lateral Raises
Day 2: Horizontal or Vertical Push + Incline EZ-Bar Raises
There is really no limit to how you combine the exercises so long as you generally move from high CNS (compound movements) to lower CNS (isolation movements) throughout, and keep core and rehab work until the end.
As always, your feedback, questions, and comments are most welcome and encouraged, whether in agreement or critical.
You know I love it!.
:)
Shane
A full body workout like this:
Bench Press 3x8
Incline Dumbbell Press 3x10
Seated Barbell Press Behind The Neck 3x12
Wide Grip Pulldowns 3x10
Seated Rows 3x8
Shrugs 3x10
Squats 3x10
Leg Extensions 3x15
Leg Curls 3x12
Smith Machine Calf Raises 3x20
Seated Calf Raises 3x20
Or a workout from a body part split routine like this:
Day 1: Chest, Biceps, Triceps
Day 2: Quads, Hams, Calves,
Day 3: Back, Shoulders, Abs
Rest
Repeat
With either, you’re heading down the road to nowhere! A regular full body routine that you do every second day has the advantage of giving you more frequent stimulation to grow and get stronger, but with so many exercises and relatively low intensity you’ll quickly adapt to this workout.
There isn’t really a way to increase the stimulus without increasing the total volume through more sets, reps, or weight… and the volume is already too high to sustain a decent intensity.
Many people figure this much out on their own and progress to a body part split routine. However, the higher frequency of training stimulus afforded by full body training programs generally delivers superior results to split routines except for the most advanced (and usually steroid using) bodybuilders.
With steroids muscles grow even if they’re not being trained, and consequently hitting a body part just once or twice a week is enough stimulation to elicit a growth response.
Body part split routines recruit the lower threshold motor units which have less potential for strength and mass accumulation, although they’ll pump up pretty nice and you’ll look like you’re growing in the mirror. Unfortunately once the pump disappears you’ll be no further ahead.
If your training age is less than a year, on a body part split routine you’ll grow initially, but that growth will quickly taper off except for the genetically gifted who may continue to see gains with this type of routine. But chances are, those folks will grow and get stronger with any routine.
If you insist on using body part split routines, you’ll likely burn out or get injured frequently, precluding any significant accumulation of muscle mass. And if you don’t, then you probably
aren’t training hard enough to grow on any routine.
Enter The Full Body Split Routine
A full body workout involves all muscle groups of the body. But each muscle group can be trained with different movements, and consequently a full body split routine is a program that has multiple training days, and each training day trains the full body but with a different emphasis each time.
Obviously if your goal is to get a huge bench press, and you try to lift heavy on the bench every two days, you’re going to be in for trouble. But substituting overhead presses, pushups, dips, and various other angled pressing movements you can get a serious strength training program each and every time you hit the gym without baking any of your joints.
To set up this type of workout, we pick full body, compound movements. The general template is laid out as follows:
Full Body Split Routine Template
Main Quad or Hip Dominant Lower
(ex: Squat/Deadlift/Cleans)
Main Horizontal or Vertical Push 1
(ex: Bench Press, Military Press, Barbell Press Behind The Neck)
Supplemental Quad or Hip Dominant Lower 2 (optional)
(ex: Step-ups/Split Squats/Good Morings/Romanian Deadlifts)
Main Horizontal or Vertical Pull 1
(ex: Barbell Rows, Pull-Ups)
Horizontal or Vertical Push 2(optional)
(ex: Dips, Dumbbell Military Press, Incline Dumbbell Flyes, Suspended Push-Ups)
Horizontal or Vertical Pull 2 (optional)
(ex: Rope Face Pulls, Dumbbell Pullovers, Straight-Arm Pulldowns)
Hip Abduction or External Rotation (optional)
(ex: Sideways X-Band Walking, Seated Band-Resisted Abduction, Side-Lying Clams)
Core work (static, dynamic, bilateral, unilateral, isolateral)
(ex: Front Plank, Side Plank, Roll-outs, Leg Raises, Floorclimbers, T-Twists)
Shoulder Prehab (external rotations, internal rotations, etc…)
(ex: Side Lying External Rotations, Kneeling Band-Resisted Internal Rotations, Swiss ball IYTWA)
Below I’ve given you a sample program with three workouts, and I’ve listed which exercise each one is from the template above. With a few small exceptions, each workout fits into the template pretty well. The Kettlebell clean and push press and the Suspended Atomic Pushup are both hybrids involving upper and lower or upper and core and the same time.
Day 1 (Monday)
Squats 5x5 (Quad Dominant Lower)
Incline Dumbbell Press 4x6 (Horizontal Push 1)
Glute & Ham Raises 4x8 (Hip Dominant Lower)
Bent-Over Barbell Rows 4x10 (Horizontal Pull 1)
Weighted Side Plank 3xmaxtime (Core static)
Side Lying External Rotations 3x15 (Shoulder external rotations)
Day 2 (Wednesday)
Deadlifts 5x3 (Hip Dominant Lower)
Weighted Pushups 5x10 (Horizontal Push 1)
Split Squats 3x12 (Quad Dominant Lower)
Wide Pull-Ups 5xmax (Vertical Pull 1)
Mountainclimbers 3x20 (Core dynamic, isolateral)
Day 3 (Friday)
Kettlebell Clean & Push Press 4x6 (Hybrid – Hip Dominant Lower & Vertical Push 1)
Front Squats 4x6 (Quad Dominant Lower)
Suspended Inverted Rows 4x12 (Horizontal Pull 1)
Sideways X-Band Walk 3x12 (Hip abduction)
Suspended Atomic Push-up 3x20 (Hybrid – Horizontal Push & Core dynamic, bilateral)
As you see just because it’s in the template, we don’t necessarily do it every time. But over the course of time as you modify your program you drop one and add another. If you try to do everything from the template every single workout, it starts to look like the typical full body training program, similar in many ways to the pretty useless workout I listed at the beginning of this article.
What !? No Arms???
You may notice there’s no direct arm work listed, but if you are training both pushing and pulling exercises three times a week with the higher intensities this type of training allows, you should notice that your arms get all the training they need.
However, if you are gun-hungry, and you insist on training those arms separately, the best way to do it is to incorporate it into the template by substituting a bicep movement in place of your Horizontal or Vertical Pull 2, and substitute a triceps movement in place of your Horizontal or Vertical Push 2. Choose exercises like Dips, Close-Grip Bench Press, Bodyweight Triceps Extensions, or Skull Crushers for best results.
If you need your workouts to be as short as possible, still targeting your whole body, and insist on throwing in arm training, then choose only one horizontal or vertical pushing movement, and then do a biceps exercise in place of a horizontal or vertical pulling movement.
On the subsequent workout you switch it around and do only one horizontal or vertical pulling movement and then substitute a triceps exercise for your horizontal or vertical pushing movement.
This allows you to train push + biceps on one workout, then pull + triceps on the next. While not optimal for over all growth response, it will deliver slightly more biceps/triceps value at the expense of over all size and strength growth.
If you want to include a bit of direct shoulder work such as Incline EZ-Bar Raises or Dumbbell Bent-Over Rear Lateral Raises, substitute them for either the Horiztontal or Vertical Push 2 and the Horizontal or Vertical Pull 2.
And again, if you’re really strapped for time but feel it important to get in some direct deltoid work, make your template modifications like this:
Day 1: Horizontal or Vertical Pull + Incline EZ-Bar Raises
Day 2: Horizontal or Vertical Push + Dumbbell Bent-Over Lateral Raises
Of course you could always keep it all pushing one workout and all pulling the next such as:
Day 1: Horizontal or Vertical Pull + Dumbbell Bent-Over Rear Lateral Raises
Day 2: Horizontal or Vertical Push + Incline EZ-Bar Raises
There is really no limit to how you combine the exercises so long as you generally move from high CNS (compound movements) to lower CNS (isolation movements) throughout, and keep core and rehab work until the end.
As always, your feedback, questions, and comments are most welcome and encouraged, whether in agreement or critical.
You know I love it!.
:)
Shane
Creatine Ethyl Ester - Bang or Bust
As you know I’m a big proponent of creatine for it’s ability to increase the anaerobic alactic energy system’s (phosphagen system) time to depletion. In the body, Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) is the the ultimate energy compound that all cells of the body use.
In producing energy, ATP is reduced to Adenosine Diphosphate (ADP). ADP can then be reconverted into ATP when it receives a P molecule from Creatine Phosphate (CP). So a greater pool of CP in the body allows this reaction to continue for a longer period before glycolysis is started.
Supplementing with Creatine Monohydrate (CM) supplies the body with additional Creatine which joins up with P molecules which have been released in the reaction where ATP converts into ADP.
Creatine Monohydrate has been studied exhaustively for more than 20 years. It’s safety and effectiveness has been well documented.
Companies looking to cash in on the effectiveness of Creatine as a nutritional supplement are always looking for a new compound that can bind to Creatine and be sold as safe and effective. Unfortunately most of these new products reach the market long before they undergo sufficient testing to be proven to be safe and effective.
Creatine Ethyl Ester
A relatively new entrance to the Creatine market is Creatine Ethyl Ester (CEE). CEE has been marketed and sold under many names including:
BSN CellMass
Xyience NOX-CG3
Higher Power Creatine Ethyl Ester
Controlled Labs Green Bulge
Universal Animal Pump
If the names of the products above weren’t enough to scare you off, check this out… at www.criticalbench.com, a supposedly well respected website on strength training, they have an article entitlted “Creatine Ethyl Ester Review & Information”.
You can check out the article for yourself here: http://www.criticalbench.com/Creatine-Ethyl-Ester-Review.htm
In this review they start off with a subtitle “Creatine Ethyl Ester Guide: Absorbed Better Than Regular Creatine Monohydrate!” This sounds like a fact to the uneducated reader. The article then goes on to discuss the well-known benefits of Creatine Monohydrate (CM). The article then suggests that a limiting factor in the effectiveness of (CM) is it’s absorption.
To clear up any confusion as to whether other more expensive and potentially dangerous forms of creatine are more readily absorbed than CM, a study comparing new forms of creatine in raising plasma creatine levels was published in the Journal of International Sports Nutrition on November 12, 2007; Volume 4, Page 17.
In this study which compared CM, Tri-Creatine Citrate, and Creatine Pyruvate, it was stated “Differences in bioavailability are thought to be unlikely since absorption of CrM is already close to 100%”, and in this study, CrM is the acronym for Creatine Monohydrate.
In essence, they’re making it clear that CM has a nearly 100% bioavailability, which basically means that www.criticalbench.com is full of MALARKY!
If you don’t know what “malarkey” means…
click here: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/malarky
Anyway…
The article goes on into some absolutely unrelated pseudo-whacky-mumbojumbo part-this, part-that science that tries to make the reader feel like the info is beyond their comprehension, so “obviously”, it’s important scientific stuff.
At this point they quickly come back to earth, speak in English, and tell the reader that whatever they were just speaking about means that “the dosage requirements will be lower and the esterified creatine will be absorbed better (that’s the MALARKY again), and that the infamous “creatine bloat” will be eliminated.
The article continues with some other garbage, but then the real unbelieveable part… you’re not going to believe this… they list a slew of scientific references to “support” their article on Creatine Ethyl Ester.
GUESS WHAT?
Not even a single reference of the nine listed references are about Creatine Ethyl Ester!!!!
Yes, you read that correctly!
Every single reference is about the effectiveness of Creatine Monohydrate!
So they’re trying to pass off the “Hypey” pseudo marketing science as real science to sell Creatine Ethyl Ester, and then when they actually list the “real” scientific references to supposedly support their position, they’re actually listing science that only supports Creatine Monohydrate.
What does this tell you? It shows that most people don’t read the references, but believe that if the company has listed some, then they “must” be telling the truth!
Rest assured, references that I list in support of THIS article actually support my position.
The latest information about Creatine Ethyl Ester to make you re-consider whether you would buy it or not was published just a few days ago and clearly demonstrates that Creatine Ethyl Ester is a pronutrient exclusively for CREATININE, not Creatine.
The study suggests, “that there are no physiological conditions that would result in the production of creatine from Creatine Ethyl Ester.”
For this reason, once again, I will reiterate the value of Creatine Monohydrate over all other forms of Creatine available on the market.
The following is a list of chemical-ish sounding names that are found in various products marketed and sold to be better than CM. This list is by no means exhaustive, but it will at least give you a few to watch out for:
Creatine Ethyl Ester
Tri-Creatine Malate
Tri-Creatine Citrate
Creatine Malate
Creatine Pyruvate
Creatine Ethyl Ester Malate
Creatinol-O-Phosphate-Malic Acid
Creatine Alpha-Amino-N-Butyrate
Creatine Gluconate
Creatine Ethyl Carbonate Ester
Tri-Creatine Orotate
Magnesium Creatine Chelate
Creatine Pyroglutamate
Creatine HMB
Of this list, not all are completely useless, but most are just significantly more expensive ways to get slightly less than you get from Creatine Monohydrate. The exception is Creatine Ethyl Ester, which as I’ve mentioned above turns into Creatinine not Creatine in the body.
Creatinine is a naturally occurring compound in the human body and is in fact a marker of kidney function. Eleveated levels can indicate kidney damage, however it is uncertain as to whether ingestion of substances that elevate Creatinine levels is safe or not.
Now that I’ve bashed all these other creatine products I will admit that CM is not perfect. In doses over 5g some people experience stomach upset, it doesn’t mix well in liquids, and roughly 30% of those who use it don’t find much benefit from it at all.
Personally, I’ve used it off and on for over 15 years in doses of 5g at a time, with sometimes as much as 20g in total per day without any stomach upset, and with great results. When I haven’t used creatine for a while 6-8 weeks, I can start up and usually get an additional lean mass gain of about 5-10 lbs depending on my calorie intake. I give CM a full 5 stars for effectiveness and bang for your buck. The prices are rock bottom these days. Just make sure you look for “Creapure” on the label. That’s the company that supplies the best powder to the supplement companies.
If you decide you want to try it, you should notice that you get an extra rep or two out on many of your sets. Over time this increases the training effect and you can experience significantly greater increases in strength and muscle growth.
The brands I trust for Creatine Monohydrate powder are Ultimate Nutrition, AllMax, ProLab, and Optimum Nutrition. They all use the Creapure product, and they all offer a micronized powder. Micronization reduces the size of the particles making it much easier to mix in liquids compared to the non-micronized powder which when added to water will just sit at the bottom.
In the end, if you choose to continue to dump your hard earned money into the hands of the people who manufacture these other forms of Creatine, be my guest… it’s your money, not mine!
References:
1. Spillane M, Schoch R, Cooke M, Harvey T, Greenwood M, Kreider R, Willoughby DS “The effects of creatine ethyl ester supplementation combined with heavy resistance training on body composition, muscle performance, and serum and muscle creatine levels.”, J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2009 Feb 19; 6:6
2. Jäger R, Harris RC, Purpura M, Francaux M. “Comparison of new forms of creatine in raising plasma creatine levels.” J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2007 Nov 12;4:17
3. Giese MW, Lecher CS. “Non-enzymatic cyclization of creatine ethyl ester to
creatinine.” Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2009 Oct 16;388(2):252-5
4. Giese MW, Lecher CS. “Qualitative in vitro NMR analysis of
creatine ethyl ester pronutrient in human plasma.” Int J Sports Med. 2009
Oct;30(10):766-70
In producing energy, ATP is reduced to Adenosine Diphosphate (ADP). ADP can then be reconverted into ATP when it receives a P molecule from Creatine Phosphate (CP). So a greater pool of CP in the body allows this reaction to continue for a longer period before glycolysis is started.
Supplementing with Creatine Monohydrate (CM) supplies the body with additional Creatine which joins up with P molecules which have been released in the reaction where ATP converts into ADP.
Creatine Monohydrate has been studied exhaustively for more than 20 years. It’s safety and effectiveness has been well documented.
Companies looking to cash in on the effectiveness of Creatine as a nutritional supplement are always looking for a new compound that can bind to Creatine and be sold as safe and effective. Unfortunately most of these new products reach the market long before they undergo sufficient testing to be proven to be safe and effective.
Creatine Ethyl Ester
A relatively new entrance to the Creatine market is Creatine Ethyl Ester (CEE). CEE has been marketed and sold under many names including:
BSN CellMass
Xyience NOX-CG3
Higher Power Creatine Ethyl Ester
Controlled Labs Green Bulge
Universal Animal Pump
If the names of the products above weren’t enough to scare you off, check this out… at www.criticalbench.com, a supposedly well respected website on strength training, they have an article entitlted “Creatine Ethyl Ester Review & Information”.
You can check out the article for yourself here: http://www.criticalbench.com/Creatine-Ethyl-Ester-Review.htm
In this review they start off with a subtitle “Creatine Ethyl Ester Guide: Absorbed Better Than Regular Creatine Monohydrate!” This sounds like a fact to the uneducated reader. The article then goes on to discuss the well-known benefits of Creatine Monohydrate (CM). The article then suggests that a limiting factor in the effectiveness of (CM) is it’s absorption.
To clear up any confusion as to whether other more expensive and potentially dangerous forms of creatine are more readily absorbed than CM, a study comparing new forms of creatine in raising plasma creatine levels was published in the Journal of International Sports Nutrition on November 12, 2007; Volume 4, Page 17.
In this study which compared CM, Tri-Creatine Citrate, and Creatine Pyruvate, it was stated “Differences in bioavailability are thought to be unlikely since absorption of CrM is already close to 100%”, and in this study, CrM is the acronym for Creatine Monohydrate.
In essence, they’re making it clear that CM has a nearly 100% bioavailability, which basically means that www.criticalbench.com is full of MALARKY!
If you don’t know what “malarkey” means…
click here: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/malarky
Anyway…
The article goes on into some absolutely unrelated pseudo-whacky-mumbojumbo part-this, part-that science that tries to make the reader feel like the info is beyond their comprehension, so “obviously”, it’s important scientific stuff.
At this point they quickly come back to earth, speak in English, and tell the reader that whatever they were just speaking about means that “the dosage requirements will be lower and the esterified creatine will be absorbed better (that’s the MALARKY again), and that the infamous “creatine bloat” will be eliminated.
The article continues with some other garbage, but then the real unbelieveable part… you’re not going to believe this… they list a slew of scientific references to “support” their article on Creatine Ethyl Ester.
GUESS WHAT?
Not even a single reference of the nine listed references are about Creatine Ethyl Ester!!!!
Yes, you read that correctly!
Every single reference is about the effectiveness of Creatine Monohydrate!
So they’re trying to pass off the “Hypey” pseudo marketing science as real science to sell Creatine Ethyl Ester, and then when they actually list the “real” scientific references to supposedly support their position, they’re actually listing science that only supports Creatine Monohydrate.
What does this tell you? It shows that most people don’t read the references, but believe that if the company has listed some, then they “must” be telling the truth!
Rest assured, references that I list in support of THIS article actually support my position.
The latest information about Creatine Ethyl Ester to make you re-consider whether you would buy it or not was published just a few days ago and clearly demonstrates that Creatine Ethyl Ester is a pronutrient exclusively for CREATININE, not Creatine.
The study suggests, “that there are no physiological conditions that would result in the production of creatine from Creatine Ethyl Ester.”
For this reason, once again, I will reiterate the value of Creatine Monohydrate over all other forms of Creatine available on the market.
The following is a list of chemical-ish sounding names that are found in various products marketed and sold to be better than CM. This list is by no means exhaustive, but it will at least give you a few to watch out for:
Creatine Ethyl Ester
Tri-Creatine Malate
Tri-Creatine Citrate
Creatine Malate
Creatine Pyruvate
Creatine Ethyl Ester Malate
Creatinol-O-Phosphate-Malic Acid
Creatine Alpha-Amino-N-Butyrate
Creatine Gluconate
Creatine Ethyl Carbonate Ester
Tri-Creatine Orotate
Magnesium Creatine Chelate
Creatine Pyroglutamate
Creatine HMB
Of this list, not all are completely useless, but most are just significantly more expensive ways to get slightly less than you get from Creatine Monohydrate. The exception is Creatine Ethyl Ester, which as I’ve mentioned above turns into Creatinine not Creatine in the body.
Creatinine is a naturally occurring compound in the human body and is in fact a marker of kidney function. Eleveated levels can indicate kidney damage, however it is uncertain as to whether ingestion of substances that elevate Creatinine levels is safe or not.
Now that I’ve bashed all these other creatine products I will admit that CM is not perfect. In doses over 5g some people experience stomach upset, it doesn’t mix well in liquids, and roughly 30% of those who use it don’t find much benefit from it at all.
Personally, I’ve used it off and on for over 15 years in doses of 5g at a time, with sometimes as much as 20g in total per day without any stomach upset, and with great results. When I haven’t used creatine for a while 6-8 weeks, I can start up and usually get an additional lean mass gain of about 5-10 lbs depending on my calorie intake. I give CM a full 5 stars for effectiveness and bang for your buck. The prices are rock bottom these days. Just make sure you look for “Creapure” on the label. That’s the company that supplies the best powder to the supplement companies.
If you decide you want to try it, you should notice that you get an extra rep or two out on many of your sets. Over time this increases the training effect and you can experience significantly greater increases in strength and muscle growth.
The brands I trust for Creatine Monohydrate powder are Ultimate Nutrition, AllMax, ProLab, and Optimum Nutrition. They all use the Creapure product, and they all offer a micronized powder. Micronization reduces the size of the particles making it much easier to mix in liquids compared to the non-micronized powder which when added to water will just sit at the bottom.
In the end, if you choose to continue to dump your hard earned money into the hands of the people who manufacture these other forms of Creatine, be my guest… it’s your money, not mine!
References:
1. Spillane M, Schoch R, Cooke M, Harvey T, Greenwood M, Kreider R, Willoughby DS “The effects of creatine ethyl ester supplementation combined with heavy resistance training on body composition, muscle performance, and serum and muscle creatine levels.”, J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2009 Feb 19; 6:6
2. Jäger R, Harris RC, Purpura M, Francaux M. “Comparison of new forms of creatine in raising plasma creatine levels.” J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2007 Nov 12;4:17
3. Giese MW, Lecher CS. “Non-enzymatic cyclization of creatine ethyl ester to
creatinine.” Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2009 Oct 16;388(2):252-5
4. Giese MW, Lecher CS. “Qualitative in vitro NMR analysis of
creatine ethyl ester pronutrient in human plasma.” Int J Sports Med. 2009
Oct;30(10):766-70
The Truth About Co-Q10
In my career to date, I have worn a number of hats. I’ve been a sought-after strength and conditioning coach for athletes, a coach, trainer, and diet-guru for bodybuilding, fitness, and figure competitors, a boot camp instructor, and a nutritionist for all of my clients. Today I'm going to tell you the truth about Co-Q10.
Nutrition for my clients generally involves education on how foods affect the body and how to construct their ideal diet for their individual circumstances—that have generally been about getting stronger, faster, muscular, and leaner.
I’ve also had a few clients who weren’t in great health and have counseled them on nutritional practices that have significantly improved their health.
Ninety-nine percent of the time, the nutritional changes do not involve nutritional supplements because improved and varied whole-food consumption solves most people’s problems.
As with anything, there are exceptions, and this article will provide you with the Truth About Co-Q10.
Co-Q10 is a vitamin-like substance present in the mitochondria (furnace) of every cell of the body. It is a co-enzyme involved in a number of key energy production pathways and has important anti-oxidant properties. Our bodies naturally produce it, and it is found in many foods we eat.
Interestingly Co-Q10 is found in the highest concentrations in heart muscle tissue. When the heart has sustained damage, or where heart disease is present, there is a significant drop in Co-Q10 content.
Many studies have shown a beneficial effect of Co-Q10 supplementation in people with compromised heart function, however, the unfortunate effect of politics in medicine and science to this day prevents a positive conclusive stance by any major medical association or institution. That there is no profit for big pharma in the equation is the leading reason for the lack of backing of Co-Q10.
There have been enough studies showing significant positive results to merit further research, unfortunately while science must do further studies to prove it’s effectiveness, many people will miss out on the benefits of this very safe compound.
Of all the research done, a number of factors are well agreed upon:
1. Vegans and those avoiding consumption of red meats often have very low Co-Q10 levels.
2. Statin and beta-blocker medications can lower Co-Q10 levels by as much as 40%.
3. Low levels of Co-Q10 are often found in high-volume endurance exercise trainees.
4. Heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and low HDL cholesterol, are common conditions in those with low Co-Q10 levels.
5. Low levels of Co-Q10 are common in people forty and over.
6. People in their twenties and younger generally have healthy Co-Q10 levels.
Considering that optimal function of all cells requires sufficient Co-Q10, and that deficiencies in this extremely important compound are commonplace in those taking medications for so many conditions that reduce Co-Q10 levels in the first place, it just makes plain sense to supplement with this important compound.
Additionally, the safety of Co-Q10 is indisputable.
In the end, it might be decades before Co-Q10 is endorsed by any medical association as a potent tool in the arsenal against many diseases. Fortunately, it is low cost, very safe, and you have the right to exercise your own choice to take it if you fit into any of the categories where deficiencies are common.
If you have any comments, I would love to hear them!
References:
1. Söderberg, M. (1990). "Lipid Compositions of Different Regions of the Human Brain During Aging". Journal of Neurochemistry 54: 415–419
2. Sarter B. ”Coenzyme Q10 and cardiovascular disease: a review”. J Cardiovasc Nurs. 2002 Jul; 16(4):9-20. Review.
3. Kishi T, Watanabe T, Folkers K. Bioenergetics in clinical medicine XV. “Inhibition of coenzyme Q10-enzymes by clinically used adrenergic blockers of beta-receptors”. Res Commun Chem Pathol Pharmacol. 1977 May;17(1):157-64.
4. Ghirlanda G, Oradei A, Manto A, Lippa S, Uccioli L, Caputo S, Greco AV,
Littarru GP. “Evidence of plasma CoQ10-lowering effect by HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study”. J Clin Pharmacol. 1993 Mar; 33(3):226-9.
5. Kalén A, Appelkvist EL, Dallner G. “Age-related changes in the lipid compositions of rat and human tissues”. Lipids. 1989 Jul; 24(7):579-84.
6. Thibault A, Samid D, Tompkins AC, Figg WD, Cooper MR, Hohl RJ, Trepel J, Liang B, Patronas N, Venzon DJ, Reed E, Myers CE. “Phase I study of lovastatin, an inhibitor of the mevalonate pathway, in patients with cancer”. Clin Cancer Res. 1996 Mar; 2(3):483-91.
Nutrition for my clients generally involves education on how foods affect the body and how to construct their ideal diet for their individual circumstances—that have generally been about getting stronger, faster, muscular, and leaner.
I’ve also had a few clients who weren’t in great health and have counseled them on nutritional practices that have significantly improved their health.
Ninety-nine percent of the time, the nutritional changes do not involve nutritional supplements because improved and varied whole-food consumption solves most people’s problems.
As with anything, there are exceptions, and this article will provide you with the Truth About Co-Q10.
Co-Q10 is a vitamin-like substance present in the mitochondria (furnace) of every cell of the body. It is a co-enzyme involved in a number of key energy production pathways and has important anti-oxidant properties. Our bodies naturally produce it, and it is found in many foods we eat.
Interestingly Co-Q10 is found in the highest concentrations in heart muscle tissue. When the heart has sustained damage, or where heart disease is present, there is a significant drop in Co-Q10 content.
Many studies have shown a beneficial effect of Co-Q10 supplementation in people with compromised heart function, however, the unfortunate effect of politics in medicine and science to this day prevents a positive conclusive stance by any major medical association or institution. That there is no profit for big pharma in the equation is the leading reason for the lack of backing of Co-Q10.
There have been enough studies showing significant positive results to merit further research, unfortunately while science must do further studies to prove it’s effectiveness, many people will miss out on the benefits of this very safe compound.
Of all the research done, a number of factors are well agreed upon:
1. Vegans and those avoiding consumption of red meats often have very low Co-Q10 levels.
2. Statin and beta-blocker medications can lower Co-Q10 levels by as much as 40%.
3. Low levels of Co-Q10 are often found in high-volume endurance exercise trainees.
4. Heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and low HDL cholesterol, are common conditions in those with low Co-Q10 levels.
5. Low levels of Co-Q10 are common in people forty and over.
6. People in their twenties and younger generally have healthy Co-Q10 levels.
Considering that optimal function of all cells requires sufficient Co-Q10, and that deficiencies in this extremely important compound are commonplace in those taking medications for so many conditions that reduce Co-Q10 levels in the first place, it just makes plain sense to supplement with this important compound.
Additionally, the safety of Co-Q10 is indisputable.
In the end, it might be decades before Co-Q10 is endorsed by any medical association as a potent tool in the arsenal against many diseases. Fortunately, it is low cost, very safe, and you have the right to exercise your own choice to take it if you fit into any of the categories where deficiencies are common.
If you have any comments, I would love to hear them!
References:
1. Söderberg, M. (1990). "Lipid Compositions of Different Regions of the Human Brain During Aging". Journal of Neurochemistry 54: 415–419
2. Sarter B. ”Coenzyme Q10 and cardiovascular disease: a review”. J Cardiovasc Nurs. 2002 Jul; 16(4):9-20. Review.
3. Kishi T, Watanabe T, Folkers K. Bioenergetics in clinical medicine XV. “Inhibition of coenzyme Q10-enzymes by clinically used adrenergic blockers of beta-receptors”. Res Commun Chem Pathol Pharmacol. 1977 May;17(1):157-64.
4. Ghirlanda G, Oradei A, Manto A, Lippa S, Uccioli L, Caputo S, Greco AV,
Littarru GP. “Evidence of plasma CoQ10-lowering effect by HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study”. J Clin Pharmacol. 1993 Mar; 33(3):226-9.
5. Kalén A, Appelkvist EL, Dallner G. “Age-related changes in the lipid compositions of rat and human tissues”. Lipids. 1989 Jul; 24(7):579-84.
6. Thibault A, Samid D, Tompkins AC, Figg WD, Cooper MR, Hohl RJ, Trepel J, Liang B, Patronas N, Venzon DJ, Reed E, Myers CE. “Phase I study of lovastatin, an inhibitor of the mevalonate pathway, in patients with cancer”. Clin Cancer Res. 1996 Mar; 2(3):483-91.
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