The Protein Review

… Protein, Weight Loss and Training

Posts Tagged muscle building

Will Your Muscles Shrink?

Mar 8

Posted by Ty in Articles | No Comments

One of the so-called Rules Of Muscle Building is that if you don’t eat enough calories, or if you go on a “crash diet”, somehow all of your muscle mass will wither away, vanish or FALL OFF!

This myth is strong. You’ll find it in magazines, repeated by almost ALL personal trainers, fat loss experts and bodybuilders.

But Something Is Weird

I’ve been dieting pretty hard and have dropped about 10kg already, but my muscle remains??? I haven’t seen this muscle wasting myth happen to me. My strength levels have varied but my muscle measurements are roughly the same.

So, where is the dreaded catabolic death that we are supposed to be doomed to? There are days that I have fasted for 24 hours and all the other days I am eating low calorie. There are even times where I am only eating one meal for the entire day.

What happened to the horror story of all of my muscle disappearing?

Is it possible that the horrible effects of muscle wasting… ARE A MYTH?

Is it ALL just transient water?

When you “bulk” up you add more water to your frame, then you “diet” down, which pulls that water away. Thus giving you the artificial feeling of “gaining” more muscle than you have and “losing” that same muscle on the way down.

Do you think the muscle gaining and fat loss industry is using this effect to sell you products, services and programs based on claims from the EFFECTS of transient water?

It’s just a question… an interesting question for sure.

Tags: , ,

Body of Rules

Feb 22

Posted by Ty in Articles, Reviews | 1 Comment

After my series of posts about fasting and weight loss you should have worked out the secret truth by now. There’s only ONE rule to dropping body fat:

“Figure out a way to CONSISTENTLY consume less calories than what you burn”

It’s the unbreakable rule of fat loss. You cannot side skirt it.

Did you know that muscle building has similar rules too?

Well, it does and it’s sad to say that all of the current focus on:

  • What’s better, kettlebells, dumbbells, or barbells?
  • Sets, reps, and rest intervals
  • Pre and post workout nutrition
  • Muscle building supplements
  • and more

… has most guys totally missing out on the ONLY rule of muscle building… and if you aren’t doing this, you won’t gain any muscle size.

“Each workout must be 100% EFFORT with a constant progression of the weight that you lift”

Once you get this, once you understand BOTH the #1 Rule Of Fat Loss AND the #1 Rule of Muscle Building, the pieces of the puzzle just fit together.

The Rules of Fat Loss and Muscle Building are SIMPLE…

… you just have to do it.

The Adonis EffectThe Adonis Effect is one of the most simple and straight forward exercise programs that I have come across. It works and it’s easy… you just have to do it.

Apparently these guys are working on a Venus Effect program too. It’s intended to be just for women. Having said that, the Adonis Effect can be done by women too. My girlfriend is currently trying it out and she’s loving it. The transformation of her body is really satisfying for her, she’s really happy with it.

The whole program is designed to highlight the natural shape of you body without adding any extra bulk that you body can’t naturally handle. You don’t need to spend money on fancy supplements either. Just eat normal healthy food. That’s it… you just have to do it.

Tags: , ,

Adonis Index – Gain 8lbs in 1 Hour!!

Feb 21

Posted by Ty in Podcasts/Vidcasts | 2 Comments

Well… not really. But it’s an interesting concept that Brad Pilon demonstrates. Brad shows that during a 1 hour workout he actually gains 8lbs of lean muscle mass…. apparently.

The Adonis Index

The guys from the Adonis Index are doing a teleseminar on Wednesday 24 February 2010. During the teleseminar Brad will reveal how he does it. I thought it might have been the water he was drinking during the workout, but I tried that at the gym just this morning. My bodyweight stayed exactly the same… maybe I didn’t drink enough? I can’t think what else could be causing the weight gain. Anyway we will find out in good time.

In the meantime you can check out the Adonis Index here.

Tags: , ,

You ain’t THAT Special

Jan 29

Posted by Ty in Articles | No Comments

You are human

Your body works exactly the same way that mine does.  In terms of physiology… you are not unique.  Humans can be categorised into general groups and body types, but that’s where the differences end.

There has always been a myth that your exercise program needs to be tailored especially for you OR that you need to DISCOVER what works for you.  It appeals to us that we should have something especially for us.  We like to feel unique and special.

The reality is however:

  • There is a finite and predictable amount of muscle you can build based on your body type
  • Your metabolic rate is determined by your lean body mass and controlled within a tight range
  • You lose body fat by eating less calories than you burn (it’s the ONLY way)
  • Everyone’s body digests and reacts to food the same way (taking into account disease or allergies)

The original exercise sequences and programs developed over time by professional and olympic coaches still work. Physiologists already know that the way that our bodies build muscle and burn fat haven’t changed in thousands of years and you don’t need any newfangled, trendy way of making these processes happen.

You don’t need anything SPECIAL.  You need DISCIPLINE and COMMITMENT.  You need to stop following TRENDS and focus on the SIMPLE stuff that WORKS.

EAT LESS and TRAIN SMART

Tags: , , , ,

Anabolic Halo

Nov 12

Posted by Ty in Reviews | 3 Comments

MuscleTech Anabolic HaloMuscleTech Anabolic Halo, 2.4 Lbs., Orange Avalanche

It took me a while to work out what Anabolic Halo actually is.  At first glance I just assumed it was protein powder, but it’s not.  There is no protein listed on the ingredients label at all.  It does list specific amino acids, some of which are Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA).  All the BCAA’s are made up in proprietary blends so their specific amounts are not listed.

So, I needed to look a little closer, what is this stuff?

There is plenty of other weird ingredients in this stuff as well like evodia powder.  I looked this up and it is used as a painkiller and also to stimulate the appetite.  Does this help with recovery as a painkiller?  I guess stimulating the appetite can’t hurt.  Another one is big catuaba powder which is supposed to act as a tonic for the nervous system.

Some people report that they feel sleepy after taking Anabolic Halo, other guys report that it increased their libido.  It’s probably this big catuaba powder causing these effects.  From what I found out it is considered to be an agent that strengthens and balances the function of the nervous system and may be both stimulating and sedating. Big catuaba powder has been used to relieve agitation, nervousness and anxiety. It is also used to relieve insomnia, particularly when related to nervous debility, and it also thought to alleviate depression, emotional stress and hypochondria. Catuaba is believed to calm overactive neurotransmitters.

So, I guess all these compounds are intended to support recovery after exercise.

Now I noticed Coleus Forskohlii Extract which is used as a fat burner.  Another compound was Vitus Vinifera Extract (Grape Seed extract).  This stuff supplies anti-oxidants.  Yohimbine Extract was also listed, this stuff is used as a fat burner and works like a stimulant.  Many people report strong side effects from Yohimbine like increased blood pressure.  I don’t know how Yohimbine is supposed to work with evodia and catuaba.  One is trying to jack you up while the other two are calming you down?

There are many other herbal extracts listed on the ingredients label for Anabolic Halo.  I haven’t bothered to research all of them. I’m sure they are intended to do something, but whether they work with each other or against each other, I don’t know.

Creatine Monohydrate & Beta Alanine

The main thing I noticed in the ingredients were two compounds which I am very interested in.  One is still being tested in many studies and shows some promising results.  The other has been scientifically proven to give results in the gym and is the one compound you can call “anabolic”.  These ingredients were Beta Alanine and Creatine.

Beta Alanine supplementation has been shown to increase the concentration of carnosine in muscles, decrease fatigue in athletes and increase total muscular work done.  This is a real promising supplement and I look forward to other studies coming out about this stuff.  So far a lot of people give good reviews about its performance.  If it keeps going this way it will be up there with the king of all supplements… Creatine.

Creatine monohydrate is the one supplement on the market that is guaranteed to work and has 20 years of science research behind it.  Anabolic Halo lists creatine monohydrate as well as creatine malate and creatine taurinate.  These last two forms of creatine are new in the market and have no studies behind them.  I personally have tried creatine malate and got zero results from it.  It just didn’t work for me.  I have never seen creatine taurinate in the shops but I wouldn’t bother chasing it down.  Creatine monohydrate is the king.  It is an anabolic supplement that is guaranteed to build muscle by decreasing fatigue and making you get more work performed with increased weights.

Anabolic Halo

Anabolic Halo has many other vitamins and minerals listed on its label.  As far as I’m concerned you can take out all the weird herbal stuff, take out the BCAA’s and all the other vitamins.  Just leave the creatine monohydrate in and this stuff will work.  It’s the creatine that is building the muscle and it’s creatine that will give you results time and time again.


MuscleTech Anabolic Halo, 2.4 Lbs., Orange Avalanche

Tags: , , ,