Archive for the ‘BodyBuilding’ Category

My holiday period has not been great. I had food poisoning for 7 days two weeks ago and now my molar has a very nasty abscess.

Yesterday I had a full on kettlebell session – big mistake as I developed a fever in the evening.

I had a fever and shakes last night. But managed to lance the abscess with a needle today. Hopefully with some rest, lots of garlic, honey and apple cider vinegar it will clear up until the dentists are open again and I can get it pulled out.

I CAN NOT wait.

I found this video on the Poliquin website so I thought I would share it with you. This is cheap and easy, 45 gm’s of omega 3 plus 4-6 gm’s of carnitine tartrate. Maybe wanna check what happens to cholesterol when you go off the regimen though. With some cholesterol lowering supplements it does a spike or rebound once you stop supplementing. That of course is dangerous.

Neuroplasticity is a growing area of research in neuroscience. The term first picked up on Google only in 2005.

Basically the brain can rewire itself changing what you can do or who you are in the process. Politicians would have us believe that our sexuality, sexual orientation, intelligence including IQ and personal character are genetically hard wired and unchangeable.

This has been completely debunked by neuroplasticity.

The therapies are exciting and the potential benefits to you as an individual are HUGE !!

Don’t let the bad guys categorize you – be free.

Imagine what you can do…

Channel or alter your sexuality, develop a photographic memory & greater intelligence, alter your personality.

Ultimately admit that YOU – NOT YOUR GENES are responsible for your moral behavior and become a more responsible adult rather than a brainwashed political sheep.

Bodybuilding and fitness provide the anabolic foundation for a personal applied neuroplasticity program.

I have written my first proper commercial book. Its called “Iron Power Palm” and is a how to manual for people that want to train to break with the hands for martial arts.

The book is 285 pages and fully illustrated. I expect to have it available for purchase in ebook form in the next few days and as a hardcopy book after xmas.

Yeah it really sucks. I just spent a week with chronic diarrhea after eating at a fast food chicken joint. I got very weak and dizzy for the whole time and finally got back to the gym today.

I hope to be back to normal tomorrow. Haven’t had a bug like that for many, many years. Lucky I had no vomiting, just diarrhea and dehydration.

Anyway the best thing is to eat lots of natural yogurt to counter the bad bacteria and rest up.

Pretty sure I had Staphylococcus but who knows there are so many bugs that can cause the same symptoms.

Cissus quadrangularis

Cissus quadrangularis is an ancient medicinal plant native to the hotter parts of Ceylon and India. It was prescribed in the ancient Ayurvedic texts as a general tonic and analgesic, with specific bone fracture healing properties. Modern research has shed light on Cissus’ ability to speed bone healing by showing it acts as a glucocorticoid antagonist (1,2). Since anabolic/androgenic compounds are well known to act as antagonists to the glucocorticoid receptor as well as promote bone growth and fracture healing, it has been postulated that Cissus possesses anabolic and/or androgenic properties (1,3). In addition to speeding the remodeling process of the healing bone, Cissus also leads to a much faster increase in bone tensile strength. In clinical trials Cissus has led to a fracture healing time on the order of 55 to 33 percent of that of controls. That cissus exerts antiglucocorticoid properties is suggested by a number of studies where bones were weakend by treatment with cortisol, and upon administration of Cissus extract the cortisol induced weakening was halted, and the healing process begun.

While the increased rate of bone healing may be of great significance to persons suffering from chronic diseases like osteoporosis (4), the antiglucocorticoid properties of Cissus are likely of much more interest to the average bodybuilder or athlete, since endogenous glucocorticoids, particularly cortisol, are not only catabolic to bone, but catabolize muscle tissue as well. Numerous studies over the years have suggested that glucorticoids, including the body’s endogenous hormone cortisol activate pathways that degrade not only bone, but skeletal muscle tissue as well. A recently published report documented exactly how glucocorticoids (including cortisol) induce muscle breakdown: They activate the so-called ubiquitin-proteasome pathway of proteolysis (5). This pathway of tissue breakdown is important for removing damaged and non-functional proteins. However, when it is overactive during periods of elevated cortisol (e.g disease states, stress, and overtraining) excess amounts of normal tissue are broken down as well. By exerting an anabolic, antiglucorticoid effect cissus helps preserve muscle tissue during times of physical and emotional stress.

Although the bulk of the research on Cissus centers around bone healing, the possibility exists that Cissus may act to improve bone healing it may improve the healing rate of connective tissue in general, including tendons. If this is the case it would be of great benefit to bodybuilders and athletes.

Besides the above-mentioned properties of Cissus, the plant is also rich in the vitamins/antioxidants vitamin C and beta-carotene. As analyzed, Cissus quadrangularis contained ascorbic acid 479 mg, and carotene 267 units per 100g of freshly prepared paste in addition to calcium oxalate (6).

The typical recommended daily dosage of Cissus extract is between 100 and 500 mg, depending on the concentration of the extract and the severity of symptoms. For the powder of the dried plant, the Ayurvedic texts recommend a dosage of 3 to 6 grams to accelerate fracture healing. Safety studies in rats showed no toxic effects at dosages as high as 2000 mg/kg of body weight. So not only is Cissus efficacious, it is also quite safe, in either the dried powder form or the commercially available extract.

Cissus also possess analgesic properties on a mg per mg basis comparable to aspirin or anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen. Cissus quadrangularis constitutes one of the ingredients of an Ayurvedic preparation, `Laksha Gogglu’, which has been proved to be highly effective in relieving pain, reduction of swelling and promoting the process of healing of the simple fractures as well as in curing the allied disorders associated with fractures (7). The mechanism through which Cissus exerts its analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties has not been well characterized. It may act centrally, but the anti-inflammatory features suggest that it acts by preventing the conversion of arachidonic acid to inflammatory prostaglandins.

1) Chopra SS, Patel MR, Awadhiya RP. Studies of Cissus quadrangularis in experimental fracture repair : a histopathological study Indian J Med Res. 1976 Sep;64(9):1365-8

2) Chopra SS, Patel MR, Gupta LP, Datta IC. Studies on Cissus quadrangularis in experimental fracture repair: effect on chemical parameters in blood Indian J Med Res. 1975 Jun;63(6):824-8.

3) PRASAD GC, UDUPA KN. EFFECT OF CISSUS QUADRANGULARIS ON THE HEALING OF CORTISONE TREATED FRACTURES. Indian J Med Res. 1963 Jul;51:667-76.

4) Shirwaikar A, Khan S, Malini S. Antiosteoporotic effect of ethanol extract of Cissus quadrangularis Linn. on ovariectomized rat. J Ethnopharmacol. 2003 Dec;89(2-3):245-50.

5) Combaret L, Taillandier D, Dardevet D, Bechet D, Ralliere C, Claustre A, Grizard J, Attaix D Glucocorticoids regulate mRNA levels for subunits of the 19 S regulatory complex of the 26 S proteasome in fast-twitch skeletal muscles. Biochem J. 2004 Feb 15;378(Pt 1):239-46.

6) Chidambara Murthy KN, Vanitha A, Mahadeva Swamy M, Ravishankar GA. Antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of Cissus quadrangularis L. J Med Food. 2003 Summer;6(2):99-105.

7) Panda, J Res Ayurv Siddha, 1990, 11, 7

I believe I have lost fitness doing LSD running. Its made me slow like a slug. If you have never exercised & need to lose fat and ease your heart into training then it has value.

But I am an ex infantry soldier, I have lifted weights 26 years. Thanks to LSD my cardio level is very poor.

The fix ? Kettlebell snatches and the viking warrior workout will save my ass. I expect that only 1-2 months doing the cardio KB snatch routine will have my cardio in pristine condition. No more long slow runs to the beach for me.

Kettelbells are far more effective for improving cardio and fat loss while maintaining and increasing muscle.

I’m resting my left arm due to Tendinitis for a couple of weeks minimum. Sucks but there is no alternative. Here is a document showing Chinese massage therapy which should be done with Dit Da Jow liniment.

The Chinese treatment differers a little from western treatment. Ice is contraindicated as is compression to some extent as you want to encourage blood flow. You can use Ice & compression initially to get any immediate swelling or inflammation down but after 24-48 hours just use the massage and rest the arm for 2-3 weeks

Weight vest training has begun to make a change in my physique. I am a lifter of 26 years but have a smooth midsection. I don’t enjoy running at all. It feels good at the end but I don’t think the muscle fibers in my legs are suited for it. At 100 kg its not so good either.

I’m a weight lifter not a runner.

I tried jump rope which is more effective but again I am just not made for it. I thought jump rope was the most strenuous cardio workout but I was wrong.

Kettlebells and weight vest training combined will change your training regimen. I get an extreme endorphin hit doing this training. It puts a grin on my face and I am now highly motivated to do cardio. The main exercise with kettlebells for cardio is the snatch. Look up the “viking warrior conditioning” program.

This is just plain killer cardio that takes you well into the red zone – nearly heart attack material.

It really is very strenuous – but so damn good.

So being an ex-grunt I have to add the weight vest. Fatigue and stamina are pushed to the limit.

Get a 16 kg kettlebell, a weight vest, a doctors seal of approval (seriously) and be prepared to do battle. Really this is military grade training fit for any combat soldier.

My body weight is unchanged at 100 kg but in the last two days both my gym instructor (who I never ask for instruction) and a complete stranger have commented on my physique. The stranger asked me how to lose abdominal fat. Well I am far from ripped but it wont take long training in this way.

I still do my regular weight training with barbell & dumbell but add 2-3 weight vest sessions per week preferably with the kettlebells.

Deadlifts are also killer with the vest on.

As you should know telomeres are the end caps on your chromosomes that break down over time.
This is how nature kills us through natural aging. Other factors can cause cellular damage but it is the breakdown of the telomeres that is the fundamental aging mechanism.

The body uses an enzyme called telomerase to repair the telomeres – all of this is old news (no pun intended).

So what we want to do is activate the telomerase enzyme to repair our healthy cells and prolong life – potentially indefinitely with this biotechnology.

Certain enzymes inhibit telomerase in such a way that destroys cancer cells & others activate it in such a way that restores healthy cells that we don’t want to age. The aging in the cells can be reversed by restoring the telomeres.

OK like I said this is old news, now products exist that do this. Cycloastragenol is a saponin from the Chinese herb astragalus – not just any astragalus though. TA-65, is the telomerase activator agent derived from the Chinese astragalus plant.

Geron corporation is distributing this product under license. http://www.tasciences.com/ are the original developers of the substance. Unfortunately as is often the case just taking astragalus is not going to save you as you need piles of the stuff to extract a daily dose.

Telomerase activation does hold the key to biological life extension.