A chemical that can not only help protect the brain from stroke and toxins, but aids greatly in exercise recovery and naturally destroys pain!

Agmatine is derived from L-Arginine. It is considered to be a neuromodulator and neurotransmitter and is stored in the neurons. Presently, agmatine has been shown to possibly be effective in the treatment of neuropathic pain and addiction to drugs. With agmatine in the system, the brain is also protected from strokes and toxins. Agmatine can be supplemented as a stand alone product to increase perception of pain but it also works together with painkillers such as morphine. This synergistic relationship with painkillers allows the agmatine to reduce tolerance build up of pain killers, possible addiction, and the actual pain itself.

Agmatine is a natural pain fighter and can aid greatly in post-workout recovery. Anxiety is also relieved which lowers cortisol levels and can help fight depression. Agmatine also aids in proper nitric oxide levels of the body which creates greater pumps and increases in vascularity. The antioxidant role of agmatine protects the body from free radicals which, in athletes, tends to build up in large amounts. Overall, agmatine is a great addition to a supplement regimen given its wide array of benefits. Find it here!

- Pete M.

Learn how your favorite childhood candies can be utilized in your diet to help build muscle and burn fat!

As we know, BCAAs are essential to any athlete's diet regimen. It is best to try a BCAA supplement that is free of any fillers or dyes as these can compromise our body's utilization of the amino acids. Taste is also a big factor when choosing the right BCAA supplement. Metabolic Augmenting Nutrition, or MAN Sports, has developed a powder that contains both of these qualities. The formula (ISO-Amino) is free of dyes, colors, and fillers allowing for optimum absorption into the muscle with minimal wasting. The flavors are all great tasting and are based upon various candies: Dorks (nerds), Fruit Smash (fruit loops/fruity pebbles), Blue Bombsicle (Rocket Pop), Mighty Melon (Watermelon Bubblicious Gum), Tiger's Blood (coconut/strawberry/watermelon), Starblaze (Starburst), Sourbatch (Sourpatch Kids), and Fruittles (Skittles) with more flavors set to release soon . With a 2:1:1 ratio (2.5g Leucine, 1.25g Isoleucine, 1.25g Valine) this product aids greatly in muscle protein synthesis resulting in increased muscle repair, energy, growth, and aid in fat loss. You can check the flavors out here!

-Pete M.

Nutrient Powerhouse: This one nutrient can aid in both cutting and bulking regimines!

HMB originates from the essential branched-chain amino acid Leucine. This nutrient can be found in very small amounts from various parts of our diets (catfish and citrus fruits) and can also be produced within our body (¼ to 1 gram per day). HMB can aid in both the repair from and resistance to muscle damage. It also supports a positive protein balance considering its ability to reduce protein catabolism within the body. This allows for more protein to be shuttled into the muscle cells to create an atmosphere for more growth and repair of lean muscle mass. Given this fact, HMB can be used for both bulking and cutting regimens. When combined with a BCAA supplement, its anti-catabolic (prevention of muscle wasting) effects are amplified and more muscle tissue will be protected from breaking down.

There have been several studies over the years that have proven the effectiveness of HMB with increasing endurance, muscle mass, strength, and aerobic performance in athletes. Although HMB originates from Leucine, supplementing Leucine alone into your diet will not allow for a high enough concentration of HMB to secrete into the bloodstream. Once Leucine filters through the liver, only 5% is oxidized for HMB. For example, 1g of Leucine would allow for .05g of HMB. An effective dose is measured to be 3g per day to result in a positive benefit and no adverse side effects are known to be associated with HMB.

In short, HMB is an effective and fairly cheap addition to either a bulking or cutting diet. When stacked with a BCAA supplement the anti-catabolic effects are even greater. Increases in strength, lean muscle mass, and endurance have all been proven to be associated with this nutrient.

-Pete M

wtf pump spray ingredient?

Ursolic acid, a compound found in apples, basil, rosemary, oregano, blueberries, raspberries, thyme and plumbs, has shown exciting potential for muscle growth in catabolic muscles. Ursolic acid reduces fat storage and increases fat burning through the inhibition of pancreatic lipase and enhanced lipolysis in fat cells. This acid also reduces the conversion of blood sugar into fat via the inhibition of fatty acid synthase. The energy reserves within our muscles is also increased by enhancing glycogen storage. Abdominal (visceral) fat is reduced through the inhibition of 11bHSD1. Ursolic acid is anti-carcinogenic through the inhibition of the STAT3 activation pathway. Cholesterol will lower through the activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor. Estrogen levels reduce through aromatase inhibition. Bones strengthen by enhancing differentiation and mineralization of osteoblasts. Lean muscle mass increases through enhanced sensitivity to IGF-1 and insulin and inhibition of atrogin-1 and MuRF1. In short, if you are trying to get lean and vascular for summer, you have to give this ingredient and product a try.

Get a bottle here: Pump Spray

Want more vascularity? Here's a simple ingredient to aid in the skin ripping pumps!

Arginine is a rather common amino acid within our diet. It is considered a conditionally essential amino acid due to its availability in our diet. However, most diets lack enough arginine to allow for the body’s metabolic needs. Other factors could also lead to a deficit of arginine including infections, burns, and low protein intake. This amino acid can be utilized when there is a high energy demand placed upon the body’s system allowing it to act as glucose for energy.

Arginine is also responsible for acting as a building block for synthesis of new proteins in the system. As for nitric oxide, arginine is necessary for its production. Nitric oxide acts as a vasodilator in our system. Vasodilation is the process of the relaxation within the walls of our blood vessels. This allows for a wider and larger pathway for blood, oxygen, and nutrients to flow through. With this increase in flow of fluid within the vessels comes the increased extraction of toxins from within the muscles. Also, the higher concentration of nutrients and oxygen within the muscles allows for greater endurance, lean muscle mass increase, and strength gains. The vasodilation can also promote a visible difference in your vascularity. This is due to the dilation (widening) of the walls within the blood vessels where you can visually see the arginine taking effect within your body.

Arginine is found in several pre-workout formulas. Taking this before you workout, usually 30-45 minutes prior to training, can induce the vasodilation process within your body during and after your workout. The utilization of arginine in conjunction with a pre-workout product allows for greater pumps and better shuttling of lactic acid and waste out of the muscle post exercise. The increase of oxygen and nutrients that become readily available to the muscle allows for an increase in muscular endurance and strength to produce a higher intensity during your workout.

In short, arginine in necessary for the production of nitric oxide which is our body's natural vasodilator. This in turn causes a flood of nutrients into the muscles to allow them to grow and for waste to exit the muscle to avoid a delay in the muscle growth and reduce muscle soreness. The daily dosage should be 3-9g. This should be limited to 8-12 weeks of continuous use with an equal amount of time off.

-Pete M.

Worried about losing muscle while dieting? Here's how to prevent it!

            While implementing a caloric deficit into your workout regimen, the body is in a sort of starvation state. Thus, it is consistently looking for ways to obtain and utilize nutrients from within the body. This means that the body is susceptible to entering a catabolic (muscle wasting) state. One way to ensure the preservation of your hard earned muscle is by consuming something that most of us are familiar with, protein shakes. There are several protein powders and formulas that are available that are lean and low enough calorie count to include into a diet. By keeping the protein high in your diet (1-1.5g/lb of body weight), your metabolism will actually increase and burn more fat while protecting your muscle tissue from atrophy (wasting away). Another simple and potentially more effective way to reduce and prevent the risk of muscle wasting while dieting and exercising is through ingesting branched-chain amino acids. Branched-chain amino acids (or BCAAs) consist of the amino acids leucine, isoleucine, and valine. These three amino acids make up around 14-18% of our total amino acid content within our muscles. These aminos also appear to directly influence the protein metabolism by inhibiting protein degradation and stimulating more protein synthesis. BCAAs may also support immune system function, influence muscle energy metabolism, reduce overall fatigue, and help diminish post-exercise muscle soreness. BCAA supplements are very widely used in almost every sport to aid in muscle growth and speed up recovery after intense training and exercise. Heavy exercise and diet causes an increased breakdown of brain chain amino acids in the body which causes a higher demand for this supplementation within our systems. Branched-chain amino acids also increase muscle protein retention and plasma growth hormone levels to increase muscle protein synthesis.

            BCAAs are viable inhibitors of catabolic activity in muscle protein. Caloric deficits may cause the body to begin to attack the protein and muscle tissue in our bodies. When coupled with exercise, which increases protein synthesis and breakdown rates, the protein in our systems can begin to breakdown at an increased rate. Considering a calorie deficit can reduce the amount of nutrients that we consume from food to reduce the breakdown of protein, BCAA supplementation should be utilized. Studies have proven that BCAA supplements that are taken between meals and before or after intense exercise will result in a sparing of tissue and significant reduction in protein breakdown. This protein breakdown reduction could last for up to five days post exercise which allows the effects of BCAA supplementation to be more than just acutely beneficial.

            In short, if you are looking for an easy way to reduce the risk of muscle wasting while utilizing a calorie deficient diet then branched-chain amino acid supplementation is highly recommended. The body breaks down and absorbs BCAAs very easily and there are not any side-effects to ingesting BCAA supplements (aside from possible gastrointestinal discomfort if ingesting too high of a concentration). The usual dosage of a BCAA supplement is 5-20g per day and is usually ingested between meals, during workouts, or after workouts to protect the muscle tissue from breakdown via the calorie deficit and exercise.

- Pete M.

Deep tissue massages- Just how effective are they?

      Deep tissue massages are utilized in a variety of sports from running and crossfit to bodybuilding and powerlifting. Whether you are trying to rid of a chronic muscular pain, speed up your recovery, throw in a few extra pullups or clean and jerks, or widen you back just a little more for your lat spreads, you should highly consider experimenting with a deep tissue massage. There are several health benefits involved with a deep tissue massage including quicker recovery, improved blood flow, reduced chronic pain, stress relief, scar tissue break up, and improved range of motion just to name a few.

     With continued exercise and training our muscles are consistently tearing down and rebuilding to improve strength and increase in size. However, the deep fascia tissue that covers the muscle essentially prevents it from growing to its full potential. A deep tissue massage can loosen and break up the fascia tissue allowing for more muscle growth and larger muscle pumps. These massages also increase the micro-circulation within muscle tissue to allow for an increased flow of nutrients and fluid into and out of the muscle. This allows for faster recovery considering more nutrients are being shuttled into the muscle while more waste is being removed from the tissue. Deep tissue massages also induce a calming effect on the muscles and circulatory system. This reduces stress on the body which in turn can lower blood pressure (usually around 9-11 mmHg systolic and 4-6 mmHg diastolic). Another benefit of these massages is the reduction of chronic pain. The increase in blood flow throughout the body allows for a reduction of inflammation within the muscle fibers which in turn alleviates most to all of that chronic pain. Over a period of time, massage therapy can actually break up and even eliminate scar tissue within the body. This can be beneficial as it reduces stiffness and ongoing pain that scar tissue usually causes. Muscle tightness also greatly limits range of motion in and around a joint as well as the muscle belly which can lead to injury during exercises. Deep tissue massages stretch the bundles of muscle fibers both lengthwise and sideways which improves tissue elasticity. All of these benefits allow for better workouts and training sessions, faster recovery times, and a healthier body. Deep tissue massages are definitely worth incorporating into your monthly regimen.

- Pete M.