Grow stronger in just 31 days!

10 Ways To Grow Stronger In 31 Days Just about everyone has the desire to look good naked, but too often we focus on form over function. Muscles should have form and perform! If you want to look like Hercules and wrestle like him, this article is for you. Here are 10 pillars for building Herculean strength, straight from Olympus. 1. Use free weights and compound movements To be strong and huge, your workouts must rely on a Greek god's exercises: squat, bench press, deadlift, military press, rows, power cleans, and other variations of these movements. They recruit the largest amount of muscle mass. Click Image To Enlarge. Barbell Squat Click Here For A Video Demonstration Of Barbell Squat. Free weights require you to stabilize the load and allow weights to be moved exactly as the body is designed to move them. Since the trainee is controlling every aspect of the movement, every aspect of it is being trained. 2. Learn perfect technique This separates the men from the boys. The seasoned expert is always working on technique, whereas your average Joe isn't too concerned about improving. Increasing strength is a neuromuscular venture, a skill. By improving and practicing technique, the nervous system becomes more efficient at telling muscles to work. Additionally, improving technique helps prevent injury. 3. Use a low repetition range For fast increases in strength, we must force the nervous system to cause increased force production, which is best done in the 1 to 5 rep range. Higher than that, and your nervous system will start focusing on other areas. Additionally, an athlete must avoid cumulative fatigue to reach peak strength levels. 285 x 2 (95% one rep max) = 600 lbs volume 210 x 10 (70 % one rep max) = 2100 lbs volume Click To Enlarge. An Athlete Must Avoid Cumulative Fatigue To Reach Peak Strength Levels. 4. Warm up properly Yes, some of the strongest men in the world will take the bar for their first set, you don't have to lift heavy every set to build strength. In order to build a godlike body, you must understand the purpose of warm up sets. Say your best bench is 315 pounds. Most trainees would probably go with something like 135 x 10, 225 x 10, 275 x 3, and 315 x 1, right? Wrong! In this example, the trainee does 4425 pounds of work over 23 "warm up" repetitions. It would be of much better benefit to take your warm-ups with 45 x 10, 135 x 3, 225 x 2, 275 x 1, and 315 x 1. You get a full 16 practice repetitions and only 1580 lbs of work. That's plenty of proper warm up to get blood moving to the affected areas and perfect your technique. 5. Increase the resistance every time you train If you don't attempt to add weight to the bar at every training session, then your body has nothing to adapt to. This doesn't mean adding an extra 45-pound plate each set; in fact, smaller jumps in weight translate into consistent progress. Compromising movement technique and integrity for more weight won't produce results. Follow the principles outlined in this article and you should be able to add some weight each time you train. Record your training sessions to keep track of progress. Click To Enlarge. Smaller Jumps In Weight Translate Into Consistent Progress. 6. Train your weak points Other than the primary lifts you'll be doing, the only other focus you should have for now is on assistance movements. They work by strengthening a part of the movement or an area that carries over to your primary lifts. For example, if your deadlift is weakest at the top, a rack pull could be used to specifically train the lockout portion of your deadlift. 7. Limit your exercise selection More work is not necessarily better. Beyond your primary lifts and assistance exercises, the only work that should be done is speed/skill work or general physical preparedness (GPP). As Dan John would say, "the goal is to make sure the goal remains the goal." We can flex our big guns and shapely pecs after we have built a good base. Click To Enlarge. More Work Is Not Necessarily Better. 8. Train like a strongman We can build functional, Herculean strength by finishing our training with movements that will tax the entire system. Impress the ladies in the aerobics area by carrying sandbags, doing farmer's carries, or flipping tractor tires. 9. Eat You won't see huge and strong guys that don't. If you aren't getting bigger and you aren't getting stronger, then you need to eat more food. Still not growing? Eat more food. Repeat until yoked. Get the point? Click To Enlarge. Still Not Growing? Eat More Food. 10. Supplement Wisely You should be taking things to augment nutritional gaps such as multivitamins, fish oil, and protein. Remember to include nutrients that are congruent with getting stronger. Creatine is one of the most studied supplements out there, and should be included in any program for someone who wants to increase strength and muscle size. Additionally, consider beta-alanine, which is the limiting factor for carnosine production. Add these supplements to your program, and Zeus would be proud. www.bodybuilding.com

Week 2

Beta-Alanine: Next Creatine?

With literally hundreds of different supplements available and so many that are based on bogus claims and ridiculous hype, it’s almost impossible to find even one that delivers results. If you’ve rummaged through the garbage of the supplement scrap heap, you know that finding any science or real-world proof is a waste of time. Beta-Alanine is the exception. Finally, a supplement that actually lives up to its claims. Beta-Alanine efficacy is backed by major university, peer-reviewed studies performed on humans, not a cell, rat or goat study upon which other products typically base claims. The science behind beta-alanine is simple, it makes sense and it works. The information on this site, was designed to be used as a beta-alanine guide and is organized in a hands-on, easy-to-follow approach manner- with no fancy biochemistry or confusing graphs.

What is Beta-Alanine and where do we get it?
Beta-Alanine is a non-essential amino acid and is the only naturally occurring beta-amino acid. Not to be confused with regular alanine, beta- alanine is classified as a non-proteinogenic amino acid, as it is not believed to be used in the building of proteins.
The greatest natural dietary sources of beta-alanine are believed to be obtained through ingesting the beta-alanine containing dipeptides: carnosine, anserine and balenine, rather than directly ingesting beta-alanine. These dipeptides are found in protein rich foods such as chicken, beef, pork and fish. It is predominantly through ingesting the dipeptide carnosine that we ingest most of our beta-alanine, as the two other dipeptides are not found nearly as plentiful in our typical coniferous diet. However, obtaining beta-alanine through these dipeptides is not the only way, as our bodies can synthesize it in the liver from the catabolism of pyrimidine nucleotides which are broken down into uracil and thymine and then metabolized into beta-alanine and B-aminoisobutyrate. Of course, it can also be ingested through direct supplementation which is the focus of this article.
Below is a list of the benefits from beta-alanine, supported by peer-reviewed university research, published in reputable science journals.

Benefits of Beta-Alanine as supported by scientific studies:

• Increase Muscular Strength & Power Output.
• Increases Muscle Mass
• Increase Anaerobic Endurance
• Increases Aerobic Endurance
• Delay Muscular Fatigue- Train Harder & Longer

Who can benefit from beta-alanine?
1. Weight lifters & Bodybuilders
2. High Intensity Cross Trained Athletes, Military Personal
3. MMA Fighters and sport specific training that require both strength and endurance.
4. Runners, Cyclists, soccer players, hockey players
5. Active individuals who have reached a training plateau and are looking for something to take them to the next level.
6. Men and women
What causes our muscles to lose strength,power and endurance during intense exercise?

When we exercise, especially when it’s high intensity exercise, our bodies accumulate a large amount of hydrogen ions (H+), causing our muscles pH to drop (become more acidic). This process is occurring whether you feel a burn or not.

The breakdown of ATP and the subsequent rise in H+ concentrations occur in all of our energy systems but H+ buildup is most prevalent in an energy system called glycolysis, which also produces lactic acid. At physiological pH, lactic acid dissociates H+ and is the primary source of released H+ ions during exercise, causing pH to drop. It is the released H+ from lactic acid that causes muscular performance problems, not the leftover lactate ions as many incorrectly believe. While lactic acid is the primary source of released H+, it is not the only source. H+ ions are also being released at a rapid rate when you break down the high energy compound ATP during exercise. With the presence of many sources during energy production releasing H+, pH drops quickly.

As our muscles pH quickly drops, so does their ability to contract forcibly and maintain a high level of performance throughout your workout session. Not being able to perform and maintain forceful muscular contractions and push your body to the limit during your workout session, seriously hampers your ability to maximally overload your muscles and force new muscle gains.

In a nutshell, H+ causes your muscles pH to drop, in tern decreasing your strength and causing you to fatigue faster. These limitations stop you from adequately overloading your muscles and forcing NEW muscle gains

So how can beta-alanine help us overcome this drop in pH that limits exercise performance?

To understand how beta-alanine works to fight the drop in pH within our muscle, you must first understand how carnosine works. The reason being is, beta-alanine’s performance benefits are not direct but realized through its ability to boost the synthesis of carnosine.

Background on carnosine:

The Russian scientist Gulewitsch was the first to identify carnosine in 1900. Eleven years later, he would discover and identify its constituent amino acids, beta-alanine and histidine. Seven years later, Barger and Tutin and Baumann and Ingvaldsen confirmed Gulewitsch’s findings. However, it wasn’t until 1938 that the first research on carnosine and its effects on muscle buffering were published.

Carnosine is a naturally occurring di-peptide that is found in both type 1 and type 2 muscle fibers, but is in significantly higher concentrations in type 2 fibers. Type 2 muscle fibers are primarily used in high intensity strength workouts and are most responsive to muscular growth.

How does carnosine work?

There are a handful of ways carnosine is thought to impact performance but its most studied function, and the focus of this article, is its role as an intracellular buffer. Carnosine helps stabilize muscular pH by soaking up hydrogen ions (H+) that are released at an accelerated rate during exercise.

Our bodies work to keep our pH in balance by utilizing various buffering systems. Buffers largely work by soaking up H+ to maintain optimal pH balance, which we need to function most effectively. As mentioned above, our muscles function best in a specific pH range. When pH drops below that range, so does muscular performance. By helping to keep us in a more optimal pH range, our muscles can continue to contract forcibly for a longer time.

There are a handful of buffering systems that work in our bodies. Some maintain pH in extra cellular fluids (ECF) outside of the cell, while others perform their duties in intracellular fluids (ICF) inside the cell and some perform in both. Our focus in this article is on exercise performance and, as mentioned above, the primary source of H+ released during exercise is from lactic acid and ATP breakdown. Take a guess where this breakdown and release of H+ is occurring? If you guessed inside our muscles or intracellular, you would be correct. As a result, the first line of defense in absorbing the H+ is going to be the cell from intracellular buffers such as carnosine, not from extra cellular buffers.

Aside from carnosine being just where we need it, buffering H+ inside our cells, it has additional, unique attributes that make it really shine. Carnosine is unique; in that, other natural buffering systems our bodies use are also used in many other cellular reactions aside from buffering, watering down much of their buffering abilities. However, what makes carnosine really exciting, is that by supplementing with extra beta-alanine, we can specifically and dramatically increase carnosine levels. How much, you ask?

Researchers have shown that when supplementing with beta-alanine for just 4 weeks, we can increase our carnosine concentration by 42-65%. Longer beta-alanine studies going up to 10-12 weeks, show carnosine concentrations increased up to 80%. This is a tremendous increase in an already powerful intracellular buffer. It is this large increase in buffering capacity within our muscles that is largely responsible for the strength, lean body mass, power and muscular endurance gains that researchers are seeing from beta-alanine studies.

Section summary:

By boosting carnosine concentrations, with beta-alanine, our type 2 muscle fibers can soak up more H+ and stay in an optimal pH range. By keeping our type 2 muscle fibers in an optimal pH range, they are better able to maintain maximal strength and endurance throughout your workout session and bring on new muscle gains

Frequently asked questions

Is beta-alanine safe?

While this is not a frequently asked question, it should be. We understand many people care most about gaining muscle, looking great and performing at their best. But safety should not be overlooked. We believe it should actually be the first question asked when considering a new supplement, even before you question efficacy.

The answer to the safety question is a resounding YES. Studies, going up to 12 weeks of continued beta-alanine use, have looked at a large array of blood biochemical, hematological and hormonal markers and no negative changes have occurred whatsoever. While it is impossible to say beta-alanine is one hundred percent safe until longer term studies are complete, we do know that up to 12 weeks of continued beta-alanine supplementation is indeed safe.

Why not just take carnosine instead of beta-alanine?

When you ingest carnosine intact, most of it is broken down in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract into its constituent amino acids, beta-alanine and histidine. Some intact carnosine does escape the GI tract freely but even that amount is quickly broken down in our blood by the enzyme carnosinase. In a very short time, all the carnosine you just ingested is either eliminated or broken down into beta-alanine and histidine. These two amino acids are then taken into the muscle, where they are converted back into carnosine with the help of the enzyme carnosine synthetase.

Unfortunately, only about 40% of the carnosine you take actually contains beta-alanine, making it an inefficient source at best. You are better off, from both efficiency and a financial standpoint, taking beta-alanine directly. You would have to take substantially more carnosine just to approach the increased concentrations of carnosine achieved by taking the scientifically recommended dose of beta-alanine. Clearly, taking beta-alanine is the superior solution to increasing carnosine levels.

Shouldn’t I take extra histidine along with beta-alanine since histidine is a component of carnosine?

No, as histidine is already present in high concentrations in muscle, while beta-alanine is only present only in small amounts. Researchers have determined that it is beta-alanine that drives carnosine synthesis, not histidine. Since this has been proven repeatedly in research, there is no need to supplement with extra histidine to increase carnosine levels. There are potentially some select populations like vegans, vegetarians or the elderly that may not get enough histidine in their diets and are thus deficient, which may compromise optimal carnosine levels. But, we still don’t recommend taking just extra histidine with beta-alanine. Instead, we recommend these groups and simply bump up their total protein intake which will in turn solve their possible histidine deficiency. For the majority of healthy people, only beta-alanine is needed as histidine deficiency is rare and no extra supplementation is needed to increase carnosine concentrations.

How much Beta-Alanine is needed to cause performance increases?
Research has shown that you can take an amount between 3.2 grams and 6.4 grams per day to significantly boost carnosine levels and improve performance. The most recent research, now using 4-5 grams a day, is showing comparable carnosine concentration and performance improvements to those using 6.4 g daily. Based off the current research, we suggest 4 grams of beta-alanine a day, with an optional 2 week loading phase of 6 grams a day during the first month of use.
How long will it take to start noticing benefits?
Performance benefits typically occur in as little as two weeks, although some individuals will notice benefits within one week. As carnosine levels increase, the benefits will follow. The most dramatic results are generally experienced within the 3-4 week range but they don’t stop there. Recent research is now showing carnosine levels continue to increase for a minimum of 12 weeks which is why we recommend staying on Beta-Alanine for at least three months to optimize your carnosine levels.
Immediate benefits: Many users experience intense vasodilatation/pumps from the very first dose of Beta-Alanine. Because Beta-Alanine increases carnosine and carnosine is a powerful precursor in generating nitric oxide synthase (a group of enzymes necessary for making the powerful vasodilator nitric oxide), this is an added, immediate benefit of Beta-Alanine.

What NOT to do at the gym

1) Taking 6 minute+ breaks. The guy occupies the only incline-bench in the gym--has turned it FLAT while there are empty flat benches available--and is taking a 7 minute zone-out looking into the ceiling. You're wasting your time.

Most optimum break-time for muscle hypertrophy, would be anywhere from 60 seconds to 5 minutes for between each set. Some researchers say that 2 minute+ breaks for hypertrophy and strength, while only 1 minute or less for endurance. The shorter breaks, the more it becomes similar to cardiovascular exercises. I tend to take around 1 minute breaks, but I think I will be more careful about going a bit over 1 minute.

2) Doing too many reps. More work = more muscle right? Yes in weight sizes, not in amount of reps. Doing more than 15 reps on any exercise is actually endurance training. You're better off just doing a 4th or 5th set.

3) Doing the same work out for over a year or simply not sweating. Sometimes you need to change your routine so that your body doesn't get use to the same cardio or same weights/sets. The importance of failing in doing your exercises/weights is significant. You have to fail to see gains.

Don't come to the gym, and do exercises, and leave without even breaking a sweat. If you're not sweating even in a cold gym---YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.

4) Doing light cardio, or low intensity cardio for a long time coupled with high expectations of huge losses of fat Cardio is always useful, but if you're only working out slow-twitch muscles (walking for 40 minutes), or only fast-twitch muscles (running for 20 minutes), you will not burn as much calories as someone doing HIIT (15 minutes of sprinting and walking/slow-jogging). HIIT is known to burn way more fat and burn more calories post-workout than LI training.

5) Doing 100-300 crunches per day and expecting rock hard 8-pack. My friend use to do this all the time, 300 crunches every work out, and said "hey look, I can barely see a border for my abs today--awesome!" after like 4-6 months of doing it.

First, one type of crunches doesn't work out all 8 packs. Secondly, abs are made in the kitchen--with really low body fat %. (This same friend didn't quit drinking scotch every night while working hard [in fact, today, he still drinks scotch]).

Abs are not the thickest muscle, they will show if you go low enough and do regular 3-4 sets of ab crunches. If you were to integrate some twisting incline ab crunches or work outs for the obliques, you will definitely start seeing an 8 pack, eventually, unless you have the worst genetics. But you gotta be below 10% body fat. I do crunches regularly, but you will never see my abs until I get down to 10% body fat (even if they are particularly strong and worked out currently).

6) Being too perfectly neat. We've all seen the guy or girl who goes and grabs tissues or wipes down all equipment before and after use. They give glaring stares if you happen to forgot to wipe down one equipment.

First of all, if your gym is maintained at all, there are people hired to specifically clean all equipment every week (otherwise, that's just a bad gym). Secondly, unless you just did cardio and you're all sweaty, you probably won't get the equipment that dirty. Third, if you're a clean person, you should have washed your hands and taken a shower anyway [as well as afterward], so stop wasting your time being the cleaning lady. Instead do more sets.

How about the guy who tries to lower the dumbbells to the floor after a bench. Ah yes, thanks for not dropping the dumbbells and not making some minor noises--you've saved us all. In the meantime, you could risk injury to your shoulders or other muscles. I sure hope you have a dependable health insurance. Face it, if you're lifting over 40 pounds of dumbbells, you have to drop the weights after your sets-----for those neurotic OCD people in the gym that don't like that, grow up, stop assuming you can control everyone and stop getting annoyed by every little thing or you'll live an unhappy life.

7) Doing only cardio with no weight training, expecting huge fat loss. I know a really really fat guy in the gym, and every day he does 40 minutes of elliptical, 30 minutes of bicycle, and 15 minutes of walking. He's burning calories, sure. However, it's not the most efficient way to lose the 300+ pound weight he has. Weight training is a necessity.

8) Chatting, giving advice, talking nonsense. It's perfectly fine to chat with a couple people to get to know them. It's perfectly fine to ask advice from someone about a certain exercise when they are done with their sets. --- What's not fine is when you're going out of your way to give advice to someone else. Unless you're Schwarzenegger himself, or a professional body builder or trainer, you have no reason to give advice unless what the person is doing can lead to injury (then go ahead give advice).

Also don't be annoyed when people give you advice, I take their advice and give my appreciation even when I find it annoying. It's good to chat and make friends with people who work out often, but don't get in the way of their work-out and don't waste their time.

9) Form. I cannot stress how important the correct form is. Using your whole body to curl 80lb DBs for 2 reps just because you want to look big is only going to result in an injury. It also doesn't work your muscles as much! Just drop the weight to where you can effectively keep form!


Brian94 @ bodybuilding.com

All you need to know about Creatine

MYTH
The More Creatine You Take, The Better.

TRUTH
You've seen those sick bodybuilders chugging down 10-20 grams of creatine. Is it worth it? According to scientists at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, at 0.1 grams per kilogram of bodyweight, male athletes excreted 46% of the ingested creatine within 24 hours. For a 220 pound lifter, this means that if he consumes 10g of creatine, 46%, or 4.6g of creatine, is wasted. In another study performed at the Human Performance Laboratory at Ball State University, scientists confirmed that lower doses of creatine monohydrate (5g/day) are effective, and that results can even be achieved without a loading phase.


MYTH
Creatine Loading Is Mandatory.

TRUTH
Once again, research is proving that less creatine is needed to deliver results. The research cited above also suggests that creatine loading may be nothing more than a waste. Should you load? In most cases, probably not. If you're an elite athlete, a professional bodybuilder or competitive powerlifter, you may want to consider loading, just in case. For the rest of us, 5g is all it takes.


MYTH
Creatine Harms The Kidneys And Liver.

TRUTH
Unless you have a pre-existing medical condition, creatine use should not damage your kidneys or liver. Most of the hype has been the result of anecdotal reports. In one study which tracked healthy athletes over a five-year period, football players who used creatine at levels up to 15.75g of creatine per day showed no effect on markers of renal or kidney stress. In another study conducted by Dr. Kerry Kuehl at the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland and presented at the 2000 annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, the kidney function of 36 healthy male and female athletes who consumed 10g of creatine per day was examined. After twelve weeks, Dr. Kuehl found that creatine did not adversely affect kidney function.


MYTH
Creatine Causes Excessive Water Retention.

TRUTH
More bull****. A recent double-blind, placebo-controlled study found that, after three months of creatine use, test subjects showed no significant increase in body water. In fact, the creatine group showed greater gains in total body mass and fat-free mass. Best of all, this recent study employed the latest in body composition measurements-deuterated water isotopic analysis which utilizes a non-radioactive "tracer". Now it is possible that some inferior-grade creatine may actually promote water gain that results in a soft, puffy look. However, this can be due to several reasons. One, it may not be due to the creatine, but excess sodium. When cheaply manufactured, excess sodium remains in the finished product.


MYTH
Creatine Causes Cramping.

TRUTH
The idea that creatine use causes muscle cramping is anecdotal with no clinical evidence to support this claim. On the contrary, clinical studies show that creatine use is not associated with cramping. In one study, researchers examine 16 men who either supplemented with creatine or a placebo. Under specific dehydration conditions, the occurrence of cramping and tightness were reported in both groups, but "nothing that would suggest a greater incidence associated with creatine supplementation." Two other studies conducted at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro fond that creatine use by 61 Division I athletes during training camps had no effects on the incidence of muscle cramps, injury or illness. These athletes used 15-25g per day on the loading phase, and another 5g/day as maintenance.


MYTH
Creatine Needs To Be Taken With Grape Juice.

TRUTH
The concept behind taking creatine with sugar such as grape juice is sound. But the trick is not the grape juice per serving. It has to do with insulin's function in the body. For creatine uptake to be enhanced, insulin release should be encouraged. Insulin functions as a kind of creatine pump, pushing it into muscles. If you're going to stick to juice, make sure you get at least 100g of juice for every 5g of creatine. Depending on your level and your goals, juice loaded with sugars may not be suitable. Newer research indicates that you can take your creatine with protein for the same results. A new study reports that taking 5g of creatine with 50g of protein/47g of carbs produced the same results as taking 5g with 96g of carbs.


MYTH
Creatine Works Better In A Liquid Form.

TRUTH
In fact, in liquid form, you may not even be getting creatine, but creatinine, a by-product of creatine breakdown. Creatine, in powder form, is extremely stable. When exposed to an acidic environment or moisture for a long time, creatine will begin to break down into worthless creatinine. The citric and phosphoric acids found in many liquid creatines, which are used to preserve the shelf life of these products, actually helps break creatine down. So as a rule of thumb, if you're going to make a creatine shake, drink it by the end of the day.


MYTH
All Creatines Are The Same.

TRUTH
Just as there is a difference between $100 champagne and $15 dollar champagne, there's a difference between high-quality creatine and inferior-grade creatine. Traditionally, Chinese creatine is a lower quality product, with more contaminants such as creatinine, sodium, dicyandiamide, and dihydrotriazine. German creatine, from companies such as SKW (Creapure™), are cleaner, purer products.


MYTH
New Forms Of Creatine Work Better.

TRUTH
News flash: no form of creatine has been proven in published studies to work better than plain old creatine monohydrate powder. Whether you're spending your extra dollar on effervescent, liquid or chewable creatine, the most important consideration is the creatine. And whether you decide to splurge and buy creatine citrate or creatine phosphate remember one thing: the major clinical studies have been performed on plain creatine monohydrate powder. Numerous studies have also shown that creatine powder is easily assimilated by the body. So unless you've got money to burn, stick with creatine monohydrate powder. Products such as effervescent creatine or creatine chewables offer convenience and a novel way to take plain old creatine powder. For real value, there's no better choice than powder.


MYTH
Creatine Will Affect By Body's Anabolic Hormone Function.

TRUTH
While creatine can boost strength and lean mass, research from the University of Leuven in Belgium has shown that it doesn't not alter anabolic hormone response to training. These hormones included growth hormone, testosterone, and cortisol. This research also might suggest that stacking creatine with prohormones or GH secretagogues might be a beneficial.


MYTH

Creatine Use Is 100% Safe. False.

TRUTH
While creatine is non-toxic, creatine use is not wholly risk-free. As with all other nutritional supplements, individuals with pre-existing medical conditions should not take creatine or other sports supplements. For example, there have been at least one case study which reported kidney inflammation in subjects who used creatine. However, in one case, the patient had a pre-existing kidney problem. So before you begin supplementing with anything, the best advice is to see your physician.


MYTH
Creatine Is Ideal For All Athletes.

TRUTH
Some athletes stand to benefit a great deal, others very little. Athletes who require sudden, high intensity bursts of power and strength are ideal candidates for creatine supplements. These athlete might include powerlifters, bodybuilders, sprinters, football, baseball, and basketball players, and the like. Endurance athletes or those who participate in sports which require steady aerobic output may not benefit from creatine use.


MYTH
Creatine Must Be Taken At A Specific Time.

TRUTH
While it has been proven that you can maximize creatine uptake by taking it with a 1:1 ratio of protein to carbs, no real evidence suggests that there's a best time to take creatine. As a supplement, creatine increases your body's pool of creatine. Whether you take it in the morning, afternoon, or evening probably won't make a significant difference. For convenience sake, you might take it with your post-training protein/carb shake.


MYTH
Cycling Creatine Will Produce Better Results. False.

TRUTH
There's no significant evidence which shows that cycling creatine is better than taking it continuously. There's no compelling proof which shoes that creatine supplementation in athletes will down-regulate the body's own ability to produce creatine.


MYTH
You Can Get Enough Creatine From Your Diet.

TRUTH
The average person gets only about 1g of creatine per day from his diet. When you cook your meals, you also destroy a good part of the creatine found in foods such as beef, cod, salmon, and herring.


Sources

Brenner M, et al. The effect of creatine supplementation during resistance training in women. J Strength Cond Res 2000;14(2): 207-213.

Burke DG, et al. "The effect of 7 days of creatine supplementation on 24-hour urinary creatine excretion.

J Strength Cond Res 2001;15(1):59-62.Eijnde B, et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2001;33:449-453.

Greenhaff PL, Steenge GR, Simpson EJ. Protein and carbohydrate-induced augmentation of whole body creatine retention in humans.

J Appl Physiol 2000;89:1165-71.Guerrero-Ontiveros ML, Walliman T. Creatine supplementation I n health and disease. Effects of chronic creatine ingestion in vivo: down-regulation of the expression of creatine transporter isoforms in skeletal muscle.

Mol Cell Biochem 1998;184:427-437.Poortmans JR, et al. Long-term oral creatine supplementation does not impair renal function in healthy athletes. Med Sci Sports Exer 1999;31(8):1108-1110.Poortmans JR, Francaux M. Adverse effects of creatine supplementation. Sports Med 2000;30:155-170.

White Flood

I am a HUGE Controlled Labs fan. I have used White Flood and Green Magnitude and have seen great results from both. White Flood is a non-stim preworkout. Meaning you won't necessarily get the pumped up feeling you'd see from something like Jack3d. Instead you will get more of an endurance aspect to your workout, and unlike stims you won't build up a resistance to its benefits. I know many people who swear by this stuff. The taste was definitely lacking in version 1, but they updated the formula to v2 and the taste improved dramatically.
PROS:
     1) One of the best preworkouts available
     2) You won't build up a resistance to the effects like you would in a stim-based preworkout
     3) Relatively cheap (100 servings for $40)
CONS:
     1) v1 taste is not what one would call good
     2) You won't get much of a pump like you would with stim based preworkouts  

Week 1

OxyElite Pro

OxyElite Pro is a "diet" supplement. If you are looking for some assistance managing your diet this is it. The normal dose is 3 capsules a day, 2 in the morning and 1 6-8 hours later, all on an empty stomach.
 PROS:
          1) Very effective at eliminating hunger when taken correctly.
          2) Caffeine provides a noticeable boost of energy.
          3) Good for about 100-200 calories burned by itself per day
CONS:
          1) Outside sources of caffeine (coffee, soda) can cause jitters on an empty stomach.
          2) Had to force myself to eat at times (OxyElite eliminated all hunger).

MONDAY
Chest/Arms Hypo
DB Incline Press		3x8-12
Palms in DB Bench		3x8-12
DB Bench		2x8-12
Skullcrushers/EZ Curls		3x8-12
Pushdowns/Cable Curls		3x8-12
Dips/BB Curls		3x8-12
DB Flyes		3x8-12
WEDNESDAY
Lower Hypo
Leg Press Machine		4x8-12
Leg Extension		4x10-15
Leg Curls		4x10-15
Calf Press		5x10-15
FRIDAY
Shoulders/Back Hypo
DB Shoulder Press/DB Front raises		3x8-12
DB Rows/DB Lateral Raises		3x8-12
Lat wide pulldown/upright rows		2x8-12/2x10-15
Close Pulldown/Upright Row		2x8-12/2x10-15
Machine Rows		2x12
SATURDAY
Upper Power
Bench Press		5x5
Bent Over BB Rows		5x5
Military Press		5x5
BB Shrugs		5x5
SUNDAY
Lower Power
Squats		5x5
Calf Work		8x10

I'm going to be running Layne Norton's Workout Routine until the end of my junior year or so. He mixes hypertrophy (lifting with mostly size in mind) and power lifting (strength). 

Here is a basic outline:

• Day One – Upper Power
• 3 or 4 Compound pressing and pulling movements, 3-5 sets in the 5 rep range, and 1 Accessory Movement
• Day Two – Lower Power
• 2 or 3 Squatting and Deadlifting movements, 3-5 sets in the 5 rep range, and 1 Accessory Movement
• Day Three 
• Off
• Day Four – Hypertrophy Chest/Arms
• 3 Benching movements, 2-3 sets in the 8-12 rep range. 1-2 reps short of failure.
• 3 Supersets consisting of 2 exercises each, 3 biceps and 3 triceps, 3 sets in the 8-12 range, 1-2 reps short of failure.
• 1 Chest accessory exercises, 3 sets, 8-12 reps, 1-2 reps short of failure.
• Day Five – Hypertrophy Shoulders/Back/Traps
• 4 Supersets consisting of 2 exercises each, 3 Shoulders and 3 Backs in the 8-12 reps range, and 2 Traps in the 10-15 rep range, 2-3 sets each. 1-2 reps short of failure.
• 1 Optional Back compound, 2 sets in the 8-12 rep range, 1-2 reps short of failure.
• Day Six – Hypertrophy Legs/Calves
• 2 Supersets consisting of 2-3 exercises each, 4-5 sets in the 8-15 range. 1-2 reps short of failure.
• Day Seven
• Off

The days do not have to be strictly followed (eg. you can do hypertrophy in the beginning of the week and power later on) but I have always tried to keep the sets and reps as close as possible to advised. For everyone that doesn't know, a superset is when you do 2 different sets right after each other, no break in between. So, if you would superset bench press and deadlift (example), you would do a set of bench and immediately do a set of deadlift, then rest a minute or two and do it all over again.