The MuscleTalker - Issue 118 (February 2012)
The IFBB British Grand Prix has teamed up with the UKBFF to put on the SportEx Festival on 20th - 21st October at Manchester Event City. This will include IFBB professional bodybuilding, the UKBFF Finals along with strongman, powerlifting and an array of other sports, as well as trade stands, fitness models and your favourite stars.
The 2012 UKBFF MuscleTalk Championships will be help on 24th June at Bedford Corn Exchange. Check MuscleTalk for updates. Details here.
Check out our articles, interviews and reports. New this month:
*** Until next time from James Collier, Jason Barnham and The MuscleTalk team ***
See you at www.MuscleTalk.co.uk
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*** Bulbine Natalensis: is this the Testosterone Booster we've been waiting for? ***
By James Collier BSc (Hons), Nutrition Consultant www.healthyaction.co.uk
Testosterone boosters are controversial supplements; they are mostly herbal in origin and it's debatable that they do actually 'do' anything in the way of boosting testosterone or, more importantly, improving gains. The more popular ones are tribulus terrestris and tongkat ali and, even with these, the positive reports are merely people's experiences and are not backed by scientific evidence.
Bulbine natalensis is the new test booster being discussed in bodybuilding circles and it's appearing on our supplement shelves on its own or as part of supplement formulas. I bet a good number of you are about to switch off now and are wondering by I'm writing about the next faddy supplement! Well, the reason why I'm looking at bulbine is because it is being discussed a lot and the reports are quite positive. Claims are increased libido, improved strength, body weight gain and fat loss.
Bulbine natalensis is a plant native to southern Africa and it is from African tribal medicine that we first learned about its claimed benefits to masculinity and libido: bodybuilders first started to hear about it in 2008. Studies on rats have demonstrated a testosterone boost of 347% compared to baseline while, at the same time, lowering oestrogen by 35% at 25-50mg/kg body weight.
There have been no formal human trials on bulbine natalensis yet, but there have been a few informal ones and people trying it on themselves. Recommended amounts to use vary greatly from around 500mg per day to 3-4g per day. Even at the lower doses people have been claiming that they feel better and they have had increased muscle growth. However, I fully acknowledge that we always hear these sorts of claims and, in practice, when we take these things, more often than not, they amount to nothing. But I will say this about bulbine, up until now I have only heard positive reports.
Bulbine Natalensis: is it the Testosterone Booster we've been waiting for? Maybe; the sceptic in me thinks it may be another fad and the fact that no-one really knows the dose makes me even more cautious, but part of me is optimistic and hopeful.
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*** Building the Best Shoulders - Part 2: Training Shoulders ***
By Darran Clemmit - MuscleTalk Expert Member
I'm going to lay down a good balanced shoulder routine. I don't claim it to be the best, as there are many ways to skin a cat, but it's a solid routine that will help most people progress their shoulder development. There's nothing revolutionary or groundbreaking about it, but I'm always amazed at the number of people that neglect rear delts, for instance. Not only does it lead to a poor looking shoulder, but it also affects stability, function and long term health as well.
I'll start by laying out the basic routine, and then looking at exercise choices, and some form tips.
Warming-Up
As I discussed last month, the shoulder is complicated and has a lot of muscles crossing it. Even though we are training the delts, other muscles will be used as stabilisers, both dynamic and static. Warming these up also helps to warm up the shoulder and gets the blood flowing, so a light set each of the following exercises, with about 20 reps: chest press, lat pull down, row with scapular retraction, internal and external rotation. These will start to get blood moving through the shoulders, and get the shoulder joint warmed up.
Workout
- Lateral raises: light warm-up sets, 4-5 working sets, with 10-15 reps per set.
- Rear delts: 1 light set, 4-5 working sets, with 10-15 reps per set.
- Shoulder press: 2 light sets (mainly to make sure triceps are ready, and 'grease the groove'), 6 working sets. First 2 sets 10-12 reps, then 2 heavy sets with 6-8 reps, then 2 further sets with 12-15 reps, concentrating on slow negatives, and explosive turnarounds, with a pause at the top.
- Wide grip rows, with fixed scapular and elbows up to isolate rear delts: 3-4 working sets, 12-15 reps, with a squeeze on each rep.
- Full range lateral raises; a very good, functional move; won't need much weight: 6 sets, 10-12 reps.
- Shrugs (we can debate where they should go, but upper traps will already be tired, so finish them off on shoulder day); heavy as grip will allow for as many reps as possible, with a static hold at the end for as long as possible: 3 sets.
Exercise Choice and Form
Lateral raises: Alternate weekly between dumbbells and low pulley. Both work the medial delt quite differently, needing the most work from the muscle at opposite ends of the range of movement. As a general rule of thumb, don't allow arms to come up past parallel to the floor, or you risk the head of the humerus and the acromion pinching soft tissue. Having the arms slightly forward to the body, at about 30° (scapular plane), also allows a little more room in the shoulder and should reduce the risk of wear.
Rear delts can be done lying on a slightly inclined bench for more isolation, or for more core involvement leaning forwards. If you have any back problems then I would suggest doing them lying on a bench. If you do them leaning over, make sure the 'lean' forwards is coming from the hips and not from the back. Both ways you should use a weight that allows good control and a slight pause at the top for most of the reps, if not, it's too heavy.
Shoulder press; the exercise with the most choices: shoulder press machine, seated dumbbell press, standing barbell press, standing dumbbell press, roughly in stability order, more stable and less challenging to less stable and more challenging. Which you choose will depend on your overall goals, and how much you want to isolate the shoulders. You'll be able to move more weight on a shoulder press, and quite a lot less on a standing press. I'd suggest using a rotation between them so you benefit from more functional lifting some weeks, and moving heavier weights on others. When pressing standing up, make sure that the lower back isn't being extended; it's a common fault especially when people are tying to lift too heavy or getting tired.
Wide grip rows for rear delts: Keep grip as wide as possible and try to relax the arms to take out biceps. Keep the scapular fixed and concentrate on generating the movement at the shoulder and tensing the rear delts at the top. Elbows should be moving horizontally and be just below the shoulder joint.
Full range lat raises (sometimes called 'around the worlds'): Form is key on this exercise, and difficult to explain in words. It's worth having someone show you this lift if you aren't familiar with it.
Shrugs: Keep arms by your sides, and concentrate on just lifting the scapular to isolate as much as possible the upper trap fibres. Middle and lower fibres of the traps are better hit on back day.
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*** Food of the Month - Beetroot ***
By Les Willis, Nutrition Consultant www.healthyaction.co.uk
Not so long ago beetroot and its juice shot to fame and stardom, earning the tag of 'superfood'. Since then the 'superfood' bandwagon has left the beetroot battered by the roadside. This month we pick the beetroot up, dust it off and see what it really has to offer. The beetroot is a tap root, initially growing along coastlines, it is now much more widely cultivated. Hardy and relatively easy to grow with a long storage life out the soil, the beetroot is a crop that has enjoyed a long history of cultivation, and enjoyed its first fame in Roman medicine.
The deep red colour of the beetroot comes from betacyanin, which is a powerful anti-oxidant, and the root also contains vitamin C, folic acid, potassium, iron, zinc and magnesium in significant amounts. Along with this, beetroot delivers a strong spread of trace elements like silica too. Nutritionally speaking, the beetroot is strong player.
The use of beetroot increased when it was found that beetroot juice contained nitrate. When taken as part of a study, it lowered blood pressure in the same way that potassium nitrate capsules did. The researchers conducting the preliminary study suggested tentatively that a dietary nitrate management strategy for blood pressure and heart disease risk could be developed. However, the study was of nine healthy people and measured blood pressure over a few hours, somewhat different from people with heart disease over many years. It's great to be positive with your findings, but researchers really did get ahead of themselves, as bacon is also high in nitrates, and no one is studying that as a way to lower blood pressure (shame).
You will also find beetroot bashed with the 'superfood' tag because of its anti-oxidant content. Now, although there is no such thing as a superfood, some foods are higher in anti-oxidants than other, in which the beetroot is exceptionally rich.
Despite this strong nutritional profile the beetroot seems to have found itself consigned to the pickle jar, or possibly grated onto a salad. This is a loss as the beetroot makes for a hearty winter soup, and can be found in many other dishes adding colour and an earthy flavour.
Ready to take the beetroot plunge? Young roots are small, usually less than 6 cm in diameter, they are tender and can be grated into dished when washed and peeled. Young roots respond well to boiling, and this should be done washed but with the skin on, older roots respond well to being baked. Both raw and cooked beetroot can be eaten straight away. If your beetroot comes with its leaves then use within two days and use like spinach as they share much of the same flavour, texture and nutritional properties.
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*** MT Powerlifting Totals Competition ***
By Hazel - MuscleTalk Moderator
Check out the latest updated totals here and check out the video you tube clips www.muscletalk.co.uk/fb.aspx?m=1083082 See where you are on the leader board!See where you are on the leader board! It has been quiet recently so have a go and see what you can do!
If you have totals listed already make sure they are your latest totals and see where you are on the leader board! Also check out the Cardio & Fitness forum Test your Mettle... What's your best? competition - open to all MuscleTalk members, just for fun so please join in!
Also the MT 220lb bench press competition: How many reps can you do? Have a go and post up how many you manage!
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*** Recipe - Banana Bread ***
By Nicole Bremner, Recipe Consultant for MuscleTalk
Taken from the eBook Muscle Menus2
Ingredients
350g low fat cream cheese
10 egg whites (or 5 whole eggs)
3 bananas, mashed
½ cup vanilla protein powder
1 tsp baking powder
½ cup sugar substitute
2 tsp vanilla essence
Zest of one lemon
1 cup bran
1 cup ground almonds
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line with grease proof paper a bread baking tin
In a bowl blend together the cream cheese and 3 egg whites (or 2 eggs if using whole) until smooth. Gradually add all the egg whites mixing until smooth. Add all remaining ingredients and mix well. Spoon into the baking tin. Cook for 25 minutes until the bread is browned on top and a knife inserted in the centre of the bread comes out clean. Cool before slicing into 10 slices.
Information
Makes 10 slices. Per slice: 225kcal, 19g protein, 17g carbs, 12g fat, 4g fibre.
More great bodybuilding recipes can be found in the eBooks 'Muscle Menus', 'Muscle Menus 2', 'Muscle Menus Vegetarian' and Muscle Menus Shakes, Bars and Smoothies
The articles in The MuscleTalker are for information purposes only and are the sole expressions of the individual authors opinion and are those not necessarily shared by the owners of www.MuscleTalk.co.uk
