New articles, interviews and reports in October:
- Tabata Training by Drew Price - explores this style of conditioning exercise
- Creatine Ethyl Ester - The Best Creatine or a Supplement Fallacy? I examine the research to see if CEE is better than creatine monohydrate
- More articles can be found here and in past editions of The MuscleTalker
MuscleTalk Training T-shirts!
*** All the best from James Collier and The MuscleTalk team! ***
See you at www.MuscleTalk.co.uk
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**
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Introducing a brand new offer from The Muscle Shop:
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The Muscle Shop now offers a small range of clothing along with supplements:
* Golds Gym Bi-Dri Tank Tops: Buy 2 Get 3rd FREE
You can see the all new Muscle Shop at www.muscle-shop.co.uk and the rest of our special offers at www.muscle-shop.co.uk/special-offers/!
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*** Food Poisoning from Rice ***
By James Collier BSc (Hons) RNutr, Nutrition Consultant www.healthyaction.co.uk
Rice is a popular food with both bodybuilders and health and fitness enthusiasts alike. But did you know it's not uncommon to get food poisoning from rice, that's not been stored and reheated correctly?
Uncooked rice can contain spores of Bacillus cereus, bacteria that can cause food poisoning. Because it's not the bacteria itself which are the offenders, but their spores which can survive cooking rice. Then, if the rice is left standing at room temperature, the spores readily germinate into bacteria. These bacteria will multiply and may produce enterotoxins (poisons) that cause the food poisoning - the toxin is called cereulide. Reheating the rice won't get rid of these toxins.
Therefore, the longer cooked rice is left at room temperature, the more likely it is that bacteria, or the toxins they produce, could stop the rice being safe to eat. The solution is to serve rice when it has just been cooked. But if you're preparing rice for your packed lunch the next day, this is still ok, just make sure you cool the rice as quickly as possible, ideally within one hour, and keep it in the fridge (at below 4°C) for no more than one day until reheating.
Remember the same applies to rice as it does with any food, when you reheat always check that the food is piping hot all the way through, and avoid reheating it more than once.
Symptoms of food poisoning from Bacillus cereus toxins include diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal cramps and will appear 1-5 hours after ingestion. Food poisoning from rice is responsible for about 2-5% of food poisoning cases
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Tailored Nutrition Advice from Experts!Healthy Action is the Nutrition Consultancy headed up by James Collier BSc (Hons), Registered Nutritionist. A team of consultants are available to provide on line nutrition advice completely tailored to suit you and your goals. For more information email
info@healthyaction.co.uk
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Monster Supplements
This month's Monster Supplements offers:
- AST Creatine HSC 4lb Lemon (10/07) - £21
- MuscleTech PumpTech 200 caps - 2 for £64.99
- Instone Intake Gain 5lb Strawberry (09/07) - £27
- Nutrabolics Easter Stack 625g Grape (12/07) - £24
- Nutrabolics Growth Factor 360g Grape (11/07) - £21
- Muscle Tech Gakic 544g (12/07) - £36
- Universal Mass Milk 2.5lb - 2 for £35.99
- Universal Ultra Whey 5lb - 2 for £39.99
They can all be found under Monthly Specials section.
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*** What is 'health', what is 'fitness'? What does it mean for your training or sport? ***
By Drew Price BSc MASc ACSM Cert RNutr Nutrition & Exercise Consultant, Healthy Action
You eat well and do a push/pull/legs routine with some cardio on top, or possibly you compete in bodybuilding, powerlifting, mixed martial arts, triathlon or another sport. Your goal may be to look good, get stronger or faster and you may think you're in pretty good shape too, but are you fit and healthy? Firstly you have to define what these possibly 'fuzzy' terms mean.
If you go to one or more of the on-line dictionaries the definitions are still pretty vague and you get results like 'health, noun, free from illness, or the state of being well' and 'fit, adjective, healthy and strong, especially as a result of exercise'. Text books are a little more useful: Exercise Physiology (McAdle, Katch & Katch) for example, breaking fitness at least down into four definite measurable qualities. However (in my opinion at least), they don't cover the bases and I'm not alone in this opinion.
Let me suggest a couple that I have read in the past, proffered by coaches and health professionals that may be a little more useful for out needs:
- Health: correct integration and functioning of our different physiological systems
- Fitness: is the ability of the body to do physical and mental work
As you can see these two qualities are inextricably linked, flip sides of the same coin, crucially without health you cannot properly develop fitness. So, you may have decent bench or dead lift numbers but are you fit? Tour de France cyclists may have enormous cardiovascular capacity but are they fit, or even healthy?
I'd argue they're not. Fitness, or the ability to do work, is reliant on physical qualities which can be broadly divided into the following;
- Speed
- Strength
- Power generation
- Strength endurance
- Flexibility
- Range of motion
- Coordination
- Balance
- Agility
- Cardiovascular endurance
There are of course others you could include like posture, muscle tone, kinetic control, etc. So if you have a few of these, even at a high level, but are seriously lacking in others then you can argue that you're not fit. In order to achieve a high level of fitness you have to at some point train all of these qualities and, the older you become, the more you have to train. Conversely the more you specialize in your training, including a sport, the more unfit you may become. You may even have health problems as well, even whilst becoming more adept at that pursuit.
Seems counter intuitive, crazy even, but think about it for a while.
Look at high level athletes of all types from bodybuilders and Olympic lifters to marathon runners and rate them against the measures above. Of course it all depends on what type of sport you play, what level you play at and what you training entails, for example mixed martial art is a sport needing many qualities. However for all sports the goal is the same i.e. not to get fit but to get more points that the other guys. This is an important point, to use my earlier example; Tour de France riders are not fit, they are just incredibly good at riding bikes.
So what does this mean for you? Look again at the list of qualities above, note how they are all measurable and how one may have an impact upon some of the others, they are all linked. Goals aside (we have different reasons for training and joining MuscleTalk) have a think about those qualities and how you would rate yourself against each one. Ask yourself where you are lacking and how that might be affecting the other parts of the puzzle. By stepping back looking at your training methodically and working on an area that may be lacking can you help you overall training?
You may not agree with what is written above but chew it over objectively and have a think about what it means for you, your long term health and training goals!
Drew is available for tailored Nutrition and Exercise advice
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Muscle Finesse Brand New Website
- The new design is easy to navigate and order with the 'Purchase Options' below each product
- All the major supplements brands are stocked
- Gym Clothing, Training Equipment, Boxing Equipment, Books, DVDs, Videos, Tanning and Competition Products and lots more
- Some unbeatable Special Offers on our Special Offers page
- And don't forget our Cash Back Bonanza!
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*** Food of the Month - Pineapple ***
By Big Les - Nutrition Consultant and MuscleTalk Moderator
Ananas comosus, or to give it its English name the pineapple, came to attention in 1493 with the second voyage of Columbus - where it picked up its English name because of its similarity to a pine cone. It was described as being 'in the shape of a pine cone, twice as big, which fruit is excellent and it can be cut with a knife, like a turnip and it seems to be wholesome'.
Wholesome the pineapple certainly is; 155g of pineapple will give you 20g of carbohydrates and around 74 calories, with 86% of it being water; it's a low calorie treat that also provides fibre that is often so absent from an athlete's diet. As you would expect the pineapple packs a healthy vitamin C content with over 16mg per 100g of pineapple, but it also comes with hearty amounts of vitamin B6, thiamin and copper. The nutritional value of the pineapple continues with its high potassium content, an electrolyte often depleted in hard training athletes. You will also find magnesium, a mineral essential for the proper absorption of potassium, as well as around 300 other biochemical reactions in the body from normal muscle and nerve function to protein synthesis and bone integrity.
In addition to this healthy vitamin and mineral profile, pineapple also contains bromelain. Bromelain is actually a mixture of protein digesting enzymes which have been noted to have numerous beneficial effects. Bromelain is an obvious and for many an effective digestive aid, however it has had its widest application as a powerful anti-inflammatory. Bromelain is subject to numerous studies and it has been linked to beneficial outcomes in numerous conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, the pain of osteoarthritis and some connective tissue disorders. In test tubes bromelain fights some viruses and bacteria suggesting a role in fighting infection too.
Finally a note of caution, bromelain does cause the improved uptake of medications (suggesting active roles in health promotion are not placebo) resulting in higher concentrations in the blood - and if you are under medical supervision or on regular medication check before having a hearty helping.
Les is available for tailored nutrition programs see: www.muscletalk.co.uk/fb.asp?m=1104321
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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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*** MT Powerlifting Totals Competition ***
By boar - MuscleTalk Pro-Member
See: www.muscletalk.co.uk/fb.asp?m=1083082
It's been a lean month in the MT powerlifting totals people! The Scottish powerhouse and pro-member Dakensta got an impressive 140kg bench-press - that's 3 wheels to you bodybuilders! Well done that man!
Pro-member JustT has surpassed the 500lb barrier in the deadlift pulling 230kg @ 100kg, very nice lifting mate!
Joe the terrible competed in the 4 nations powerlifting championships @ 90kg and won his class! Well done Joe, 297.5/172.5/255 are not PBs but under the pressure of competition, Joe did what he had to do - win for MT!
Keep pounding thru the off season fellow powerlifters and see you next time!
Boar
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** IMPROVE YOUR GRIP with 'Grippers - Getting the most from your gripper'. The informative ebook from grip champion Steve Gardener tells you how to use your gripper more effectively to improve your performance in your sport:
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*** Recipe - Bean & Pasta Soup ***
By Nicole Bremner Author of Muscle Menus
Taken from Muscle Menus Vegetarian
** Ingredients
110g broad beans
1 onion, finely chopped
1.1 litres vegetable stock
300g red kidney beans, cooked
75g wholemeal pasta twists or shells
2 tsp tomato puree
Salt and freshly ground pepper
** Method
Put broad beans, onion and stock in a large covered pan, bring to boil and simmer for 10mins. Add pasta and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add cooked kidney beans and tomato purée and boil for a further 10 minutes until broad beans are soft. Add salt and pepper, and if a more watery texture is required add a little more boiling water.
Serve this hearty soup with croutons or wholemeal bread. It can be adapted to make a stew by adding less water to the stock and adding boiled potatoes during the cooking.
** Information
Serves 6. Per serve: 242kcal, 16g protein, 45g carbs, 1g fat, 13g fibre.
More great bodybuilding recipes can be found in the eBooks 'Muscle Menus', 'Muscle Menus 2', 'Muscle Menus Vegetarian' and Muscle Menus Shakes, Bars and Smoothies
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*** DVD Review - Ripped to Shreds - Jay Cutler ***
Review by James Collier
Available from: Muscle Finesse
Why, in late 2007, have I chosen to review a Jay Cutler DVD from 2005? Well, as Jay has just won his second Olympia I thought it would be interesting to review Ripped to Shreds and compare it to his One Step Closer DVD from 2006.
Jay's DVDs have been criticised before as being a little boring and Jay has been referred to as not being very interesting on film. This is partly I feel, due to his long workout duration, and Mitsuru Okabe doesn't really help this. Sure Mits is the Daddy when it comes to bodybuilding DVDs, but he should edit down Jay's long workouts more. Personally I do think Jay is the best bodybuilder ever, and the fact that I can stare in awe at his physique makes none of his DVDs boring.
Ripped to Shreds is 210 minutes long and over two discs. As usual it covers training different body parts, about Jay as a person and a bit about his diet. It's filmed in the run up to his third consecutive win of the Arnold Classic, though there are no contest scenes. There is one very interesting scene where Jay is having a sports massage and you learn the benefits of these.
In 2005 I would have highly recommended Ripped to Shreds, but we're 2007 now, and One Step Closer is newer and better. Every bodybuilding enthusiast needs at least one Jay Cutler DVD in their collection, but I'd recommend One Step Closer over this, leaving Ripped to Shreds a choice only for die hard Jay fans.
The articles in The MuscleTalker are for information purposes only and are the sole expressions of the individual authors opinion and are those not necessarily shared by the owners of www.MuscleTalk.co.uk