Archive for the ‘Supplements’ Category
November 15th, 2011Words from the Coach
Now that we are getting steadily back into business like EPMD in the late 90’s (“They go ooo and awww when I get in my car, people treat me like Kareem Abdul Jabar.”) we would like to introduce our community to some under rated (well maybe only under rated if you haven’t heard of them before) talent, a super supplement company that’s the real deal and we support strongly here at the 4orce because they go the extra mile and keep it real with the consumer.
Stronger Faster Healthier is their name and their about section on their website reads; “Natural health supplements grounded in science, not hype. Get fit. Stay fit. Accomplish your fitness goals with products that really work!”
S.F.H. carry a variety of high quality supplements for recovery, endurance, or for the everyday healthy Team4orce lifestyle, but for today’s blog, we are going to focus on their SO3 Super Omega-3 oil, which our very own Coach Mike has incorporated the 6 ounce lemon flavor into his own daily eating. He is happy to report that the taste has been incredible and there is little no after taste or those gross fish burps. It has added an excellent high quality source of omega 3 to his diet, which has been very clean with specific caloric restrictions. Coach Mike is training to win the leaning contest and bring home the championship belt for Team4orce!!!! We’ll be documenting his progress, and giving everyone the final results at the end of December.
Product Highlights
The Keys To The Game
Omega 3 in Fish vs Omega 3 Oil
Source: stronger faster healthier
Because we should all look to clean food as a means to get healthy and fit first, it would seem logical to eat lots of fish to get your daily and optimal amounts of omega 3 fatty acids. After all, fish are the best source of omega 3s. Unfortunately, life is not that simple; here is some food for thought:
1. Fish that we like to eat do not all have high concentrations of omega 3 oils. Further most farm raised fish have very low amounts of omega 3s compared to wild fish. Why? Wild fish get their omega 3s from sea plants such as sea weed.
2. The large tasty fish like halibut, sword, and grouper and all big fish that are deep water swimmers have excessive amounts of mercury. This is because mercury is heavier than water and is more concentrated, the deeper the water. Big fish live longer than little surface swimming fish and they eat other fish and accumulate mercury. Once we consume food that has mercury, the mercury is incorporated into our bodies and is essentially there for the remainder of our lives. The more mercury containing food you eat, the more mercury one accumulates. This will not stop anyone at SFH from eating wild caught fish but we are aware. While there is not enough data to make this conclusion, we do have a slight concern with the long term consequences of eating food products containing heavy metals. This could lead to chronic neurologic defects such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s syndrome, etc. It will take epidemiologic data spanning several generations to know the impact of eating excessive amounts of fish containing mercury. This is why physicians tell pregnant mothers not to eat fish more than 2x/week. Their concern relates to neurologic defects in the fetus. In the same context, physicians do recommend fish oil to pregnant mothers because a quality fish oil can be prepared without mercury and other heavy metal contamination. Omega 3s are absolutely good for nerve development and improved motor coordination in early childhood. More on this topic later women’s health, childhood disorders, etc.
3. Benefit is derived by rate of absorption. When a fish is eaten, it must first be digested and then absorbed. Absorption rate is not optimal for omega 3 in a food product, i.e. fish. In fact absorption rate is not optimal if one consumes a high grade fish oil mixed with food, as the food will slow the absorption rate of the oil. We need to understand this “food effect” to optimize the benefits of liquid omega 3 oils. For example, there is a Japanese Clinical study, call “Jellis”. This study compares the health (cardiovascular) benefits of adding 1800 mg of active omega 3s to a Japanese diet where the Japanese on average consumes fish 6 days a week. The added omega 3s added significantly more health benefits. Why? Easy absorbed omegas 3s are much more active. In science this would be referred to as a pharmacokinetic effect.
Thus, while we advocate good clean food first over supplementation, in the case of getting enough omega 3 oil to really benefit your health (inflammation index,. lipid chemistries, heart disease without exposing yourselves to mercury based toxicities, it is essential to supplement a good diet with high dose omega 3 oils.
It’s always good to assess the risk and benefit of all products. Fish is rich in many good nutrients, and should be part of everyone’s diet, but is not an optimal way to change your omega 3 oil content.
The Pre Game Break Down
You should know by now that the amino acids the body gets from food are critical to building muscle — along with just about every other tissue in the body. But not all aminos are created equal. The branched-chain amino acids are the three most important amino acids for building muscle. That’s why you hear so much about them and why they’re available in so many different supplements.
But these three powerful aminos do far more than just grow muscle. They also play a major role in boosting energy levels, delaying muscle fatigue and even aiding fat loss.
Plug It In
The BCAAs are three essential amino acids: leucine, isoleucine and valine. From a chemical structure standpoint, each of them has a forked outcropping that looks a lot like a branch, hence their name. But what makes the BCAAs so special is how the body handles them.
Out of the 20 amino acids required for muscle growth, 17 of them are only used to build muscle. The three branched-chain amino acids (valine, leucine, isoleucine), however, are used for building muscle and for energy. That’s both good and bad — good because BCAAs are an immediate energy source for muscles; bad because BCAAs are absolutely critical to muscle growth, so if you’re using them all for energy, there won’t be any left for that. This is why it’s critical to stock up on BCAAs before and after workouts: They will supply more fuel and therefore prevent the BCAAs that are already stored in the muscle tissue from being broken down, and there will be more BCAAs available for building more muscle tissue after the workout is over. But acting as a direct energy source for muscles is not the only way that BCAAs boost your workout intensity. They also work in the brain to delay fatigue.
During exercise, a metabolite of the amino acid tryptophan known as 5-hydroxytryptamine signals the brain that the body is fatigued, which leads to a reduction in muscle strength and endurance. But research has discovered that taking BCAAs before workouts lessens the amount of tryptophan that can get into the brain — less tryptophan, less 5-HT, less fatigue. That means you’re capable of longer, more intense workouts, but it also means that your brain will remain sharper and more focused.
Lastly, BCAAs have recently been found to increase a different type of endurance — life span. Researchers from Milan, Italy, discovered that mice that were given BCAAs in their drinking water had higher amounts of mitochondria in their muscles, higher activity of the longevity gene, SIRT1, and lived 12 percent longer than those not getting BCAA-enriched water. So supplementing with BCAAs daily can keep you going longer in the race we call life.
Bigger, Stronger
The BCAAs gained their popularity with bodybuilders because of their ability to directly increase muscle size. As you likely know, muscle is made of protein. And protein is made up of amino acids strung together like a pearl necklace. So the way that muscle grows is by stringing together amino acids to make more protein, a process that is scientifically known as muscle protein synthesis. Although the three BCAAs are critical aminos in the strings of proteins that make muscle, their role in muscle building is much more than just serving as building blocks.
Research has discovered that the BCAAs, particularly leucine, increase muscle growth by directly stimulating muscle protein synthesis. Leucine acts like a key that turns on the process that strings the amino acids together to build muscle protein. Additionally, leucine boosts levels of insulin, the anabolic hormone that further stimulates protein synthesis but via a different mechanism than leucine.
BCAAs also work to enhance muscle growth and strength by boosting levels of growth hormone. Italian researchers found that athletes taking BCAAs for one month had higher levels of growth hormone after workouts. The higher the GH levels after workouts, the greater the increases in muscle size and strength.
Yet another hormone that BCAAs influence is cortisol, the catabolic hormone that interferes with the anabolic hormone testosterone and encourages muscle breakdown. Fortunately, BCAAs have been shown to blunt cortisol during exercise. This could be why numerous studies have confirmed that athletes taking BCAAs have significantly less muscle breakdown and better muscle recovery after exercise.
In essence, the BCAAs promote muscle growth and strength through five different mechanisms: 1) serving as the building blocks to make muscle protein, 2) directly activating the process that turns on protein synthesis, 3) indirectly activating protein synthesis through insulin, 4) elevating GH levels and 5) lowering cortisol levels. Now you can understand why it’s so important to take BCAAs after every workout. In fact, a study performed by the Weider Research Group and reported at the 2009 annual meeting of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that trained lifters taking a BCAA supplement around workouts for eight weeks gained about twice as much muscle and strength as those taking a whey protein shake without additional BCAAs.
Bigger Benefits
The BCAAs are not just great building supplements; they also can aid fat loss. One of the first studies to discover this benefit was one conducted in 1997 on competitive wrestlers that found that those who supplemented with BCAAs while following a low-calorie diet experienced a greater drop in body fat, particularly in the waist, as compared to those taking a placebo. The Weider Research Group study mentioned above also found that those lifters taking BCAAs lost about twice as much body fat as those taking whey protein without added BCAAs. Although its uncertain precisely how the BCAAs aid fat loss, there are some theories.
BCAA Dosing
Each time you take BCAAs, you should take 5 to 10 grams. The most critical time to take them is around workouts. So be sure to add 5 to 10 grams to your preworkout and postworkout shakes. Also consider taking a dose of BCAAs first thing upon waking to help stop the muscle breakdown that is turned on during your night of fasting while you sleep. You also can take a 5- to 10-gram dose of BCAAs at any other time of day to get an energy boost, reduce hunger and aid muscle growth
Team4orce’s 4 Man Starting Rotation
Dymatize’s Recoup “Watermeleon”
We like Dymatize’s Recoup for it’s newest flavor that has amazing taste and cutting edge formulation:
An industry standard for quality and flavor whne it comes to bcaa’s is still Scivations stellar product. These pharmaceutical-grade branch chained amino acids are supplemented with pure Free Form L-Glutamine and Citrulline Malate. In addition, a full complement of the B vitamins have been added. These include Thiamin (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Niacin (B3), Pantothenic Acid (B5), Pyridoxine (B6) and Vitamin B12.
Scivation Extend “Refreshing Watermelon”
Xtend™ is a precise, scientific blend of Energy Aminos™ consisting of the proven 2:1:1 ratio of Branched Chain Amino Acids (L-Leucine, L-Isoleucine and L-Valine), Glutamine, Citrulline Malate, and Vitamin B6 that will give you the energy you need to maximize your training while enhancing recovery at the same time. The advanced components in Xtend have been scientifically proven to help:
Speed Recovery.
Enhance ATP production and promote cell volumization.
Decrease muscle breakdown and cortisol levels.
Avoid fatigue by blocking entry of fatigue-inducing tryptophan into the brain.
Increase protein synthesis, immune function and digestive health.
Promote vasodilation, which can lead to better assimilation and absorption of protein.
It has 3.5 grams of leucine, very key point and it is one of the best tasting products in its class
VPX’S Power Shock
They have stepped up their delivery/transport game, by fusing each b.c.a.a. to a nitrate. This is said to allow for better intestinal absorption and transport stability, as well as rapid and potent vasodilation (blood flow baby!). This branch chained amino acid nitrate is also accompanied by beta alanine nitrates to increase endurance and strength. All in all, cutting edge product with the right idea and great tingle, not to mention a good taste.
Optimum Nutriton’s Essential Amin.o. Energy
O.N.’s newest entry on the market, with great product packaging, to go along with its very intelligent formulation. Essential Amino Acids Help Rebuild Muscle
Beta-Alanine Promotes Longer & Stronger Workouts
BCAAs for Endurance Support
INTENSIFY ENERGY & FOCUS
Green Energy Matrix of Green Tea, Green Coffee Extracts & EGCG
Use Multiple Scoops to Go From Mild to Intense Energy Support
PROMOTE NITRIC OXIDE PRODUCTION
Micronized L-Arginine To Support Nitric Oxide Production
Micronized Citruline To Promote Nitric Oxide Production Throughout Training
Free Form Amino Acids for Rapid Uptake*
Essential Amino Acids including BCAAs
Supports Recovery Before, During & After Exercise*
Train Longer & Harder with beta-Alanine*
Natural Energizers*
Supports Nitric Oxide Synthesis*
0nly 10 Calories and 0 Grams of Sugar per Serving
Source: Muscle Performance Magazine
The Pre Game Breakdown
Have you ever wondered how you’re supplements are developed or manufactured. Is the production as accurate and scientific as the labels lead you to believe? After watching this two-part video, that cutting edge supplement power house Betancourt Nutrition has out for consumers viewing pleasure; Team4orce was definitely motivated to pick up a few products the company has to offer and put them through the rise and grind training lifestyle.
KEYS to the GAME
Quality Control
Standardized
Tested for purity and potency
Need they say more????
Here are some Betancourt Best Seller’s
Bullnox Androrush
Phosflex Creatine
The Film Room
Part I
Part II
THE COACH’S CLIPBOARD
First off, I’d like to let everyone know that NRG-X Labs is the real deal. The story behind the company is inspiring, the stats on the products checkout (Beta MaXX, MaXX Pump, and the Red Stinger Black Label), but was most impressive was the performance of the products during the Team4orce Combine as reported in the Team4orce Supplement Press Conference. Definitely take the time out to look deeper into this company’s product, and we suggest you try one or two that fit your current supplement needs.
THE COMBINE HIGHLIGHTS
I will go on record and say, that I used each one of these product several times without combining it with the others, so I could see how each one of them worked. It was this standard Team4orce Combine process that lead me to using them as a pre-workout stack, seeing that I had the proper combination of supplements on hand; a stimulant, a cell-volumizing/nitric oxide product, and a beta-alanine complex formulated product and each one of them performed so well on the solo tip.
The pumps I got from just a single dose of the MaXX Pump came quickly and they were very tight, and full. The combination of their special Creatine Magna Power and standard arginine, paired along side of the Citrulline Malate, the product really packed a great cell-volumizing punch.
The Beta-MaXX was really another pleasant surprise; I used it for both cardio session (4-6 mile runs) and weight workouts. Recovery seemed to really pickup, soreness or the lactic acid feeling really did feel to be on the downside and the muscle recovery and retention was great. The itchy feeling subsided after a few days of use as well. Didn’t like the smell of the pills, but using them before and after workouts seemed to be real beneficial.
The Red Stinger Black Label is a full fledge winner. This bad boy kicked with a full 2 pill dose, I had to back off and settle for 1 pill (half the dose) and that still kicked, but it wasn’t as much of a shock on me and didn’t cause heartburn. The energy and rise in body temperature even while just sitting down was incredible. When I ran or lifted weights I felt a great focus, not to wired, but real strong, full of endurance and dialed in.
All 3 products together are killer, just a hands down great pre-workout/post-workout stack that help with focus, drive, endurance, pumps and cell-volumizing and recovery! Enjoyed using them and would like to keep them in my rotation. You will definitely be hearing more about us putting other NRG-X products through the combine. Its always a pleasure to find a company that is big in results and small with marketing ads in magazines.
PRODUCT STATS
Red Stinger Black Label
Beta Maxx
Maxx Pump
Press Conference Review
Coach’s Clipboard
The 4orce has seen and tried many thermogenics/fatburners in our fitness tenure; some have been good, others have been a flash in the pan, and in this saturated supplement environment, what do you do to stand out? Well Big Rig Supplements seems to have found the formula to stand out and get drafted in the first round, after coming off an impressive Team4orce Supplement combine showing, their product, Body Ignition, has put themselves in a good position to get picked to get on anyone’s supplement shopping list.
Product Introduction
Big Rig Supplement’s Body Ignition
135 Capsules
3 Caps per serving – 45 servings per
Inside the Bottle
Caffeine 250mg – Acts as your core stimulant.
Acetyl L-Carnitine 100mg - Ammino Acid that helps with fat burning and energy production.
Alpha Lipoic Acid 100mg - Antioxidant that decreases fat storage
Cayenne Pepper Extract 40,000 HUT 100mg - Helps raise the bodies core temperature
Choline Bitartrate 100mg - Supports mental focus
Green Tea Extract >98% Polyphenols100mg - Works in combination w/Caffeine to burn fat. (antioxidant properties)
Yohimbe (8% Yohimbine) - Increases fatty acid mobilization
Synephrine HCI 25mg - Appetite Suppressant
Synthetic Guggulsterones 99% Pure E&Z 20mg - Increases the thyroid activity naturally
Vitamin B-5 20mg – Supports the nervous system.
The Supplement Combine Highlights
- Impressive results in the areas of cardio (aerobic) and weight training (anerobic) endurance (an increase in energy was also accompanied w/that motivation that gets you in the zone).
-Broke a sweat and cardio was a breeze after body ignition kicked in and body temperature did go up.
- Helped control the appetite, didn’t completely suppress it, but it held eating portions in check.
-No jitters accompanied the dose that was on an empty stomach and there was no heartburn with the dose that accompanied the meal.
- I did find myself getting hunger every 2 hours and early in the morning, so we know that the metabolism was revving up.
-Body Ignition’s energy, is best described as smooth and steady, we really liked the feeling.
- Went from bottle to our system and started to work within 15 – 20 minutes.
Team4orce Breakdown
The key to this product is that it is just so fundamentally sound. Effective and really keeps the science of fat burning simple. There are no gimmicks; with NO PROPRIOTARY BLENDS you know exactly what you are getting with each serving. This allows you to make your half time adjustments accordingly, either upping the dose or taking just half the dose allowing your body to get acclimated to the new product. The ingredients are solid and they all work together to get the job done and get it done right. Tried and try, proven ingredients that maximize the products effectiveness as efficiently as possible. We really enjoyed giving this product a TRYOUT, and it made our team. We think it should have a place on your supplement roster too.
The Official Supplement Stats
For more information on where to purchase Body Ignition please visit:
www.911strong.com -use code “team4orce” to receive 10% off your entire purchase
Press Conference
