I have an assignment for everyone reading this column: March to your local Vitamin Shoppe store and search the shelves for ALR Industries products. Odds are you'll only find a couple of Author's labels anywhere. The good news is, every Vitamin Shoppe has a corporate account with ALR through their regional buyer; and individual store managers can request specific products. If you form a friendly relationship with the manager, you can ask him or her to request Chain'd Out.
The Vitamin Shoppe chain is reportedly doing well in this dragging economic climate, as are other aspects of the personal care business. In my town, doctors are beginning to send patients there with lists of vitamins and supplements to purchase. What a concept-- preventative medicine at its finest! Take-home message: Tell your local Vitamin Shoppe manager to stock Chain'd Out and other ALR Industries products. Then tell your friends to go there and buy it!
Gym Girl Skull Rose T-shirt
House of Pain has long been my favorite workout clothing line. I can't begin to remember how many people over the years have asked me "Where is the House of Pain gym?" Suffice it to say, I've spread the gospel of Rick Brewer's company to as many people as possible, and I always wear their gear in the gym, around the house, and in life.
The stunning Gym Girl Skull Rose t-shirt is one I don't wear, but Anne proudly does. Available only in black, the skull and rose design is tasteful and distinctive. Please don't think this is some kind of Grateful Dead-looking thing; there's nothing mellow coming from House of Pain.
The construction of th shirt is something special. Flat-stitched seam construction makes it comfortable for a wide range of movements, and the extra contour side panel gives it a flattering shape. These are unusual and welcome features in a t-shirt costing $18.
Bottom line, the Gym Girl Skull Rose shirt is dramatic in appearance and Bad Ass!. Available for only $18, in sizes S to XL, from www.houseofpain.com.
Stuff I REALLY Like
Chain'd Out by ALR Industries
Author L. Rea, the brains and inspiration behind ALR Industries, began touting Chain'd Out, his new BCAA powder, during his radio appearances and interviews months ago. I was fired up in anticipation, knowing if ALR was moving into the branched-chain amino acid area, it could only be interesting. At the Arnold Classic Expo, Author provided me with my first taste of Chain'd Out, and gave a dissertation on the advantages and benefits of the product. I was impressed, and the entire three-day weekend ended up fueled by Chain'd Out.
Since then, I've learned a great deal from Author's posts on the Rxmuscle forum where he disusses the merits of Chain'd Out. I won't pretend to be a scientist, nor spend time regurgitating Author L. Rea's lengthy explanations on the board, but here are some of the high points as to why you should order a jug of Chain'd Out as soon as possible:
(1) Chain'd OutTM allows everyone to enjoy supraphysiological and aesthetic results with Non-Hormonal Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA's)!
(2) BCAA's are the branch chain amino acids leucine, valine and isoleucine. These three alone make up about 70% of your muscle cellular pool and cellular structure. Unfortunately, BCAAs are lost at a rapid rate during training and during calorie deficient diets. The result is less muscle and a great need to replenish muscle.
(3) Research tells us that branched-chain amino acids activate key enzymes in protein synthesis after physical exercise. BCAA's, particularly leucine, have anabolic effects on protein metabolism by increasing the rate of protein synthesis.
Author explains that BCAAs can be extremely anabolic if they're correctly structured, protected and delivered. This was taken from his press materials,
"First, we utilized esterification technology to increase oral bioavailability 200-300%. Even more important is the fact that our ester-protected BCAA's in Chain'd OutTM greatly avoids gluconeogenesis (break-down and conversion to glucose for regular caloric utilization). "
In other words, protect yourself from catabolic muscle loss while adding more muscle. I like that.
In summary, Chain'd Out also provides positive modulation of neurotransmitters; enhances energy, focus, mood and stamina; has potent anti-catabolic and anti-cortisol effects; enhances oxygenation and nutrient utilization; provides positive endogenous hormone modulation, including testosterone; contains anti-fatigue, anti-stress and anti-oxidant effects; enhances immunity and recovery; and supports supraphysiological protein synthesis in muscle tissue.
I took the above paragraph directly from ALR literature. I've read everything I can find on Chain'd Out since it's release; anecdotal posts, articles from other researchers, interviews with Author L. Rea, conversations Dave Palumbo has had on the air about it, and have found nothing to refute a bit of it. From personal experience, Anne and I are both completely hooked and have been drinking it periodically throughout the day, and adding it to protein shakes. Have I mentioned it's delicious?
Stuff I Like
The Burrito Diet by Matt Lisk
Matt Lisk got mad. He was fat, too young to be so fat, had a young son, and came to the realization that he'd lost control of important parts of his life. So he lost a bunch of weight (80 pounds), and kept it off. Now he lives at about 10% bodyfat, has two kids, a happy marriage, and a busy and healthy life.
Why should we care that Matt Lisk now takes care of himself and is no longer fat? And what the hell do burritos have to do with any of this?
Lisk used a high-fiber, low fat burrito wrap for all his meals for a long time, as a measure of meal size. Something he pondered was portion control, and he determined this was an out-of-control aspect of our society, pointing to the growing obesity situation. Utilizing vegetables and meat, keeping each meal to one large burrito, he was able to control how much he ate at a meal and help keep to a schedule of multiple, smaller, meals each day.
So is the catchy title of his e-book merely good marketing?
No, Lisk is for real, and that's the only reason I'm telling you about him. He goes far beyond burritos in The Burrito Diet, delving into basics of nutrition I wish everyone would read. Chapters cover such important and diverse areas as food choices, relationships with food, why everyone indeed does have time to exercise, the consequences of being fat, how to fit fast food into your life, calorie deficits, fat loss scams, the dangers of high-fructose corn syrup, the differences between good and bad carbs, fats, and the glycemic index.
The Burrito Diet isn't rocket science, and many of you will feel as if you're the choir and author Lisk is preaching at you, but look around you. Most people are fat, they need help, and believe me, they know nothing about nutrition. If Lisk and his book reach appreciable numbers of people with these simple and important, even life-saving messages, society will be happier and healthier. Compared to the average best-selling yet useless or even dangerous diet books, The Burrito Diet stands far above.
Carl Lanore conducted an entertaining hour-long interview with Lisk in March on Superhuman Radio. Go to www.superhumanradio and find episode #270.
The Burrito Diet is an e-book, available from www.theburritodiet.com. I recommend it as a gift idea for those in your life looking for help and inspiration.
Stuff I Cook With
Food Network skillets
We spend a few hours at home each Sunday night grilling chicken and lean ground turkey; making gigantic albacore tuna patties, cooking brown rice, packaging broccoli, and generally keeping Tupperware and Rubbermaid in business. In our household expensive pans wouldn't last much longer than more inexpensive brands, I'm afraid, so periodically they are replaced. We're hard on pans.
My current finds are branded "The Food Network," but I think they're generic Chinese product. They work well, they're red, and they're certainly inexpensive. What more can you ask for? We're not foodies; our taste buds are often switched off and most of our meals are really fuel. These pans are wonderful and a bargain.
I found these at a Kohl's department store, where they were listed at a blazing 50% discount. They're also available at www.kohls.com, but not at www.foodnetwork.com. The 8" and 10" pans are bundled together; I bought the 12" separately. Lightweight, dishwasher safe, and of course Teflon-coated, these pans help make our food preparation less of a chore. There's nothing like the damage tuna can do to a pan when it's burned into the coating. You might as well throw it away.
What says togetherness more than my wife and I in the kitchen with the blender running and four pans cooking meat and rice for the following week?
Stuff I Read
Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors vol. 1 by Randy Roach
I'm extremely impressed with Roach's huge book. As a decades-long collector of books on the topics of nutrition, bodybuilding and strength training, I've waded through so many lengthy pieces of crap over the years, I find it difficult to get excited about many new books.
Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors is different. Roach is passionate, knowledgeable and possesses extraordinary patience and research skills.
Just what is Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors? It's the first of two massive (526 pp) histories of bodybuilding, encompassing the evolution of modern bodybuilding from physical culture, the politics and organizations, and the in-fighting that, along the way, has shaped the busines. How far we have come from Bob Hoffman's primitive protein supplements in the 1940s and ‘50s? The lessons learned and not learned provide a fascinating read. But this is only the tip of the iceberg.
When I began reading this book, initially, I caught myself editing in my head along the way (a bad habit, I'm afraid). I was wondering if Roach could write well, or if he would spend hundreds of pages making one of my favorite subjects dry and boring. . . similar to what many university press books are like. To my delight, I fell deeper and deeper into the pages, until soon I was totally engrossed. I'd tell myself to slow down, to read with comprehension, so I wouldn't miss any details. Roach has full command of his subject matter, loves it, and brings the world I've tried to live in for decades to life.
The many interviews Roach has conducted, and the thousands of books and magazines he's clearly poured over, make my brain hurt when I dwell upon it. The nutritional history of bodybuilding, presented clearly, is fascinating. Only a century ago physical culture and health were the primary focuses of all weight-trainers. The competitive sides of weight-lifting and bodybuilding were in their infancy. Today the situation is reversed; in competitive bodybuilding very little attention is paid to health, and physical culture commands very little of society's time today.
I find it difficult to do justice to Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors with a few paragraphs. I'm not saying this is the best-written book ever, and I am confident Randy Roach wouldn't make such a claim. But this is a compelling, insider's study of the cult world we live in. I felt as though I was peering behind the magic curtain into the real world of bodybuilding, weight-training and nutrition. Roach brings to life the business dealings, the behind-the-scenes intrigue, how society viewed and dealt with bodybuilding, and so much more.
My words don't do justice to Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors. I didn't want this volume to end, and cannot wait for Volume 2. Just buy the book now.
$57.95 paperback, $67.95 hardcover, from www.authorhouse.com or [email protected] or 888.280.7715. See www.randyroach.com to contact author Randy Roach.
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