The MuscleTalker - Issue 36 (April 2005)

Don't forget to go and see the FAME Fitness UK show on Saturday April 23rd 2005. MuscleTalk is sponsoring the event!

Have you enrolled in the MT Powerlifting Competition? Gary8472 is our new leader with a total of 1664lbs/756kg!

Don't forget MuscleTalk T-shirt's are available.

*** Best Wishes from James and The MuscleTalk team! ***
See you at www.MuscleTalk.co.uk

** FAME fitness model search has hit the UK! (www.wnso.com)

The first show will be held in Birmingham on 23rd April at the Senisport Pain n' Glory combat competition. Sponsored by Muscle Talk there are great prizes and trophies as well as the opportunity for lucrative international modelling contracts. What's more, it will be featured by magazines such as Muscle & Fitness, Flex and Workout World.

*** Topical Application ***
By MuscleTalk member DaVinci aka Robboe courtesy of Avant Labs: www.AvantLabs.com

No doubt you've heard of them, and no doubt you've shot them down as worthless snake oil, but regardless of this, there is a large market of topical fat loss enhancers available to the general public from supplement companies. Twenty years ago, people thought sit-ups would spot reduce fat from the abdominal region. Then ten years after, spot reduction was deemed impossible. Merely a few years ago, a revolution took place when it was noted that active ingredients could be passed through the layers of the skin and deposited in the fat stores underneath where they could yield great benefits regarding localised fat reduction. I'm not referring to diuretic lotions that simply dehydrate the area of water, although these are commonly mistaken as the same products as real localised fat loss gels.

Originally, the primary active was simply yohimbine - the active alkaloid of the herb yohimbe. Orally, yohimbine has good bioavailability, but to get the best benefits you require large doses that can negatively affect central nervous system activity in those more sensitive (make you feel anxious and uncomfortably jittery). Specially designed topical application could bypass the majority of systemic distribution (i.e. throughout the body) of the active and localise it into the area of application. This builds up in the fat cells over time yielding increased benefits without the effect on the nervous system that the same dose orally-consumed would have. Other actives with a small enough molecular weight could (and have) be added to further enhance the effects.

The major issue at first was the actual gel carrier for the active(s). Simply dissolving the active in water and rubbing onto the skin does nothing. What was required was complete knowledge of the layers of the skin and the effect various compounds have on it. An example of this, and the recipe that most other successful products 'borrow' from, is the LipoDerm gel formula by Avant Labs. Common misunderstandings were that it was the massage of rubbing the lotion into the area that aided the transport of the active through the skin. Although this may help with increasing blood flow to the area, the effect is meagre at best. The gel must get the active to the fat cells, but not as far as the bloodstream, otherwise the effect would be more or less the same as oral consumption, rendering topical application a pointless activity.

Key target areas to utilise these topical gels are regions of high alpha-adrenoreceptor concentration. The mode of yohimbine is to bind to the alpha-2 (a-2) receptor preventing norepinephrine (NE) from doing so. Stimulation of the a-2 receptor by NE essentially demotes fat burning, whereas stimulation of the beta-2 (and beta-1 and beta-3) promotes fat burning (it is these receptors that ephedrine stimulates NE beyond a certain threshold to activate, and b-2 is the specific receptor that clenbuterol binds to). Ideal areas of high alpha-receptor concentration are areas such as lower abs and love handles in men, and thighs and buttocks in women. Particular additional actives such as lecithin, sesamin, synephrine HCL, caffeine, octopamine, tyramine, green tea extract and several more ingredients can aid in the reduction of stubborn gynoid fat in males also.

Combined with an efficient cutting diet, topical fat loss enhancers can very much assist you in the aid of stripping off stubborn fat in the areas you most want lean and should be an avenue you explore should this apply to you.

For more information visit www.AvantLabs.com

*** A Stitch In Time Saves Nine - Prevention not Cure ***
By Peter Sachford - www.fphealth.com

It is a sad fact that most people pay little attention to their health until it is at risk. It is only then that people truly realise that health and wellbeing is far more important than money, and that all the money in the world cannot always buy health. From an early age we learn that prevention is better than cure - a stitch in time saves nine. Nowhere is this more true than in caring for our health, and with our health we don't always get a second chance if something goes wrong.

With the exception of some factors determined by genetics our general state of health is essentially determined by our lifestyle - our diet, the exercise we get, the respect we have for our bodies. All of these are the key determiners of our present and future health. Even when our health is suffering because of factors we cannot control (like disease) we can still exert a positive influence on our lives by living a healthy lifestyle. By watching our diet and eating pure foods and beverages filled with natural minerals and vitamins, by exercising regularly, by living as we are designed to live - in harmony with the world.

Over 50% of people suffer from digestion related diseases, but when we consider how much 'junk' we eat that should be of no surprise. Many people take the easy route of eating sugary, fatty, and greasy unnatural foods and we will pay the price with our health. It is only when we pay this price that we appreciate how foolish our diet was.

It is incorrect to look at food in a black and white way saying some foods are good and some are bad, in actuality most foods are beneficial in some way if taken in moderation. For example a glass of red wine is good for the heart, and smoking a cigarette is good for digestion, but if you were to eat several vitamin rich meals, you may actually encourage the growth of malignant cells in your body!

Our mental health is inseparable from our physical health. To be properly healthy we must have a happy, balanced mind. Our state of mind has a role to play in our physical wellbeing, stress and induce a wide range of ailments from cancer to heart-attacks. As well as that it is interesting to note that the most widespread disability in the USA, Japan and Western Europe is depression and mental disorders.

For instance, depression can be considered a minor disorder, as so many people suffer from it for years and since they are still alive, it cannot be that dangerous. Yes, it is true that one does not die immediately of depression, but when people are depressed, they either eat more (chocolates, fat- rich foods) or refuse to eat at all, which in turn impacts their physical health.

We are surrounded by pollution, noise, and radiation in our daily lives and all of this have a negative effect on our health. We cannot hide from these things but we can occasionally get away from them by going to parks or the mountains where there is clean air and peace.

One of the most effective ways of positively influencing our health is to partake in sport and exercise. Getting enough exercise to raise the heart rate twice a week has a great effect on our lives - both physically and mentally, this exercise makes us look and feel better, all of which makes us healthier.

Peter Sachford is the webmaster of FP Health which is a popular and extensive resource for health information.

For more information, go to: www.fphealth.com

*** Recipe - Toxic Tuna Oat Bake ***
By ToxicToffee - MuscleTalk Moderator
Taken from Muscle Menus 2

**Ingredients
one 190g can drained tuna from brine
25g of wholemeal self raising flour
40g of oats (ideally jumbo oats)
2 egg whites
10g of natty crunchy peanut butter

** Method
Simply place all ingredients into bowl and mix into a paste. Remove from bowl and flatten out onto a baking tray with baking sheet (non stick) (ideally a thin/medium crust pizza size). Place in pre heated oven (200-220ºC) and cook for approx 20 minutes, until the edges are slightly crispy and the middle is firm and not soggy. Remove from tray and sprinkle a little salt over it.

** Information
This recipe is high fibre and carbohydrate with about 40g protein per serving.

More great bodybuilding recipes can be found in Nicole's other great eBooks 'Muscle Menus', 'Muscle Menus 2' and 'Muscle Menus Vegetarian' eBooks:

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** Informed Bodybuilding Nutrition eBook by James Collier - the ULTIMATE nutrition bible for bodybuilding. For more information click here:
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*** Book Review - Beyond Brawn: The Insider's Encyclopedia on How to Build Muscle and Might by Stuart McRobert ***
Review by AP - MuscleTalk member

www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/9963616062

This is without a doubt up there as one of the best books I have read on the subject of bodybuilding. Firstly, it is very detailed, with over 500 pages, so value for money is ensured. This for me is very important, as too often brief, 120 page books are being sold for £15-20, which does not represent value for money.

Beyond Brawn preaches rational, sensible training methods, dispelling the notion of the need for the conventional 'Flex Magazine' type training approach. The book is totally against anything printed in mainstream bodybuilding magazines, and swiftly steers the reader away from the steroid mentality. This is very important for a beginner to bodybuilding, as I was when I read the book.

My one criticism of the book would be that it is slightly too conservative. For instance, it is said that training 3 days a week is too much for most people, which I don't think is true. Having said this though, it is always better to undertrain than overtrain.

For:

• Very detailed
• Sensible, rational information presented in easy to read manner
• Can be appreciated and enjoyed by any level of bodybuilder
• Good value for money

Against:

• Overly conservative in places
• Slightly repetitive in places

Overall, Beyond Brawn is excellent and I give it 9/10, and would highly recommend it to anyone.

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