Don't believe the hype - Optimum Nutrition : Platinum Pre-

The hype surrounding this new optimum nutrition product in Ireland was massive. There were videos going up all over the internet before the release with their tag line being "Everything is pre and pre is everything" and that this product is going to revolutionise the pre workout market!

This video shows athlete Steve Cook in his morning ritual before the gym explaining how platinum pre is the be all and end all but what did Steve Cook do or what product did he use before platinum pre's release because last time I looked had achieved all he has achieved well before this product hit the shelves!

http://www.optimumnutrition.ie/pre-coming-soon/

“When Optimum Nutrition Released Gold Standard Whey it
Revolutionized the Protein industry, now with Platinum Pre,
they are going to Revolutionize the Pre-Workout market as well!”
- Tobias Young, Optimum Nutrition Athlete, NPC Bodybuilder Model

It was released in the USA months before Ireland and  I was seeing it posted all over the internet from athlete's I look up to in the united states so I was expecting huge things from this product.

When I train I don't use pre workout supplements at all so when I do try them my body wouldn't be tolerant or used to these products so I would get a real effect from them. I personally try to stay away from pre workout supplements as much as I can because I wouldn't like to get my mind into a place where I feel I couldn't train or workout without them.




The nutritional info for optimums platinum pre are:
Caffeine – 160 mg per serving – "to improve physical performance" 

Fact: You would get nearly as much from a 8oz cup of regular store bought coffee (135 mg caffeine)

Beta alanine – 1.6 g per serving – "enhances the buffering capacity of muscle to delay the onset of fatigue"

Fact: You can get twice as much in a inferior serving(eg 1 teaspoon) if you were to just go to a supplement shop/site and buy beta alanine on it's own. For example it took me two minutes to find a product that's just beta alanine from discountsupplements.ie and it's a 400g tub with 125 servings and 3.2g of beta alanine per serving(1 teaspoon) and it's cheaper in price too @32.99 VS Platinum pre @39.99(30servings)

http://www.discountsupplements.ie/allmax-nutrition-beta-alanine-400g-model-allmax-nutrition?filter_name=beta%20al

It also says it contains leucine which is one of the most important amino acids for repair of damaged muscle fibre and it is not listed on their nutritional info on the tub.

What is Leucine?: The body's protein structures are made up of about eight percent L-Leucine, which is the fourth most concentrated amino acid in muscle. L-Leucine is not only essential to your health, but is beneficial for bodybuilders. L-Leucine helps maintain muscle tissue through sustaining nitrogen balance, supplies energy to the body even when under the stress of training and preserves muscle glycogen used for muscle contraction. Leucine is essential for a muscle building environment and assists mental ability even when exercise becomes more intense. L-Leucine is the strongest of the BCAA's and if you do not have enough of it in proportion to other amino acids, your body cannot utilise what you ingest. An L-Leucine deficiency will mean that you cannot use protein that you consume, regardless of how much you have. So basically, without L-Leucine, your protein consumption is wasted! Without protein, muscle building cannot be sustained or occur.

It contains an amino acid called L-citrlulline which in my research comes from watermelons and L-Citrulline functions in the body by being converted to L-arginine and then into nitric oxide. This nitric oxide is then going to be involved with vasodilation. This vasodilation is what helps increase the amount of blood and oxygen that is delivered to the working muscles, helping to prevent both mental and physical fatigue. In my eyes the only thing this gives is the forever craved "pump" from your workouts but not much else.

In my opinion I wouldn't waste my money on this product. The only thing it done for me was give me a tingle in my face and I hate that feeling, it has me scratching my face in the gym every two mins and makes me look like I'm on some sort of drug! I took Platinum Pre after a 7 hour day of back to back clients and fitness classes and wanted to get a serious workout in to finish off my day. This was the biggest anti climax from a product I've ever had. If someone gave me a tub for free I think I still wouldn't bother with it. The taste of it isn't great either. I love sweet things and again it was far too sweet for my liking to the point of barely drinkable and also over priced for what you actually get. You would get more benefit from a strong cup of coffee than this product and no face tingles either. 

As always feel free to contact me if there is any questions you have or topics you would like me to write about: Aaronsmythpt@gmail.com

“Demand more from yourself than anyone else could ever expect.”
Anthony Robbins

Aaron

Muscletech Nitro Amino Fx

I am going to do a review of  an Amino product from Muscletech. I've been looking around the market for a  good amino blend with a high Glutamine content in it and I've found it!

What is Glutamine and what does it do?: Glutamine is the most abundant naturally occurring, non-essential amino acid in the human body(thanks wikipedia-#NERDS). My idea of Glutamine was that it was widely accepted that it aids in recovery of muscle tissue and also had medical uses. If I was advising a client on supplements, I would definitely recommend it. 

I was looking for a really good branched chain amino acid that didn't have a huge caffeine kick but still had a  fast absorption rate, that I could take whilst training to avoid muscle breakdown (Catabolism).

For anyone who trains 2-5 times per week , branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) are absolutely critical to the repair and rebuild of lean muscle in our bodies. The process of building muscle is called protein synthesis.

BCAA's are essential amino acids to your body and not just for the athletes or gym junkies, to everyone. The body cannot produce them, so we need to take them in from other sources, for example supplements such as whey proteins, BCAA powders etc.

The only problem I had with this product was the taste(fruit punch flavour). I love sweet things but my god it was extremely sweet and there is only one flavour available which is kind of a disaster seen as its such a good product. 

When using it I would advise to use half a scoop rather than the recommended amount because I found it was nearly undrinkable OR dilute it a lot in a big bottle of water instead of using a protein shaker. It advises to take it pre training but I used it intra(during) training. It has barely any carbohydrate(4g) and only 70 calories per serving so don't worry about it, you won't wake up in the morning looking like the Hulk! 

All round savage product and I will definitely be getting it again(please bring out new flavours though). Check out http://www.discountsupplements.ie/ for the product and all other info on it! 


As always feel free to contact me if there is any questions you have or topics you would like me to write about: Aaronsmythpt@gmail.com

“Demand more from yourself than anyone else could ever expect.”
Anthony Robbins

Aaron

Hydration

I'm just going to write something basic about hydration because I think we all forget including myself how important water is to the body and how it can benefit us so much!

I hate going very factual on stuff and if I see this sort of stuff written I don't usually read it but when I researched into my own levels of hydration, I really noticed what it does for me and the effects proper hydration has on my body.

I started to notice this when my own training started to suffer because of a lower level of hydration. When I looked into it very slight changes in body water may create some performance issues in sports; as little as a 2% decrease in body water can lead to dehydration and performance suffers in sports and especially with weight training, since our muscle contains about 75% water weight. 

When your water levels decrease by high levels such as 3% or 4%, there are changes that occur that may have health consequences, such as increased heart rate and body temperature.

I think we forget sometimes that water is of major importance to all living things and in some organisms,

their body weight is up to 90% water. 

Up to 60% of the human body is water, the brain is composed of 70% water, and the lungs are nearly 90% water. 

Lean muscle tissue contains about 75% water by weight, as does the brain. 

Our bodyfat contains 10% water and bone has 22% water. 

83% of our blood is water, which helps digest our food, transport waste, and control body temperature. 

Each day humans must replace 2.4 litres of water, some through drinking and the rest taken by the body from the foods eaten.

So do your best in the days to come to try and keep yourself hydrated. 

Here's a little test for you to try: Whatever water you drink during the day, try up it by 1 litre just for one week and see the difference it makes to your body! 

Let me know how you get on with it!! 

As always feel free to contact me if you have any questions or if there are any topics you would like me to write about: Aaronsmythpt@gmail.com

“Demand more from yourself than anyone else could ever expect.”
Anthony Robbins

Aaron

One nutrition power greens VS Synergy super greens

My first review of two products:

1: Synergy - Super Greens

2: One Nutrition - Power greens

What they do: Super greens, power greens whatever you see them called have the basic 4 ingredients:

Spirulina: is a type of blue-green algae that is rich in protein, vitamins, minerals, and carotenoids, antioxidants that can help protect cells from damage. It contains nutrients, including B complex vitamins, beta-carotene, vitamin E, manganese, zinc, copper, iron, selenium, and gamma linolenic acid (an essential fatty acid).

Chlorella: Is a water-grown micro-algae, chlorella is widely known as a powerful "superfood" supplement with extraordinary nutrient density. It is believed to have been around for eons. One of the few edible species of water-grown algae, chlorella is full of chlorophyll. It contains all of the B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, amino acids, magnesium, iron, trace minerals, carbohydrates and a higher amount of protein (more than 50%) than meat, per grams of weight.

Wheatgrass and barleygrass : promotes general well-being as its minerals includes calcium, sodium, iron, magnesium, potassium, magnesium as well as some trace minerals. Barley grass is very high in organic sodium, calcium, iron and some B vitamins. 

Health Benifits:
Improves brain function
Improves physical endurance
Reduces cholesterol levels
Reduces arthritis symptoms
Rids body of various toxins
Strengthens immune system
Suppresses tumor development

Ok guys this is my first review comparing two different products. I've seen these products been used for the last year or two by other trainers that I've worked with such as S&C coach Oisin MCCabe of "http://compoundtrainingsystems.com/" and never really took any notice but I put all my stubbornness aside and decided to give it a shot.

I done two tests and the first was with myself whilst on a carbohydrate cycling diet to try get as lean as I can. I needed to keep a massive amount of energy up for my own training and also to give my personal training clients the best experience and not a "Hangry" (it is a word-  Hungry and angry) trainer. I found them to give me an immense amount of energy and keeps me on level 10 throughout the day. I cannot recommend to take these enough. The synergy one had the basics in it "Chlorella, Barleygrass,Wheatgrass, Spirulina" and I thought it had a very strong taste and if your taste sensitive I wouldn't go for this one. I went looking for super greens in my local health food shop and came across the second one "one nutrtion" so I got it just to try it. For me I thought the One nutrition power greens had the same if not a better effect on my energy levels, less of a strong taste, was easier to drink and had more ingredients than the super greens such as broccoli and kelp.

The second test I done was to try to get my Mother to take super greens. She is a chef of a busy kitchen and is constantly on her feet. She has type 2 diabetes, Eats when she can because of the nature of her busy job and is a smoker from a very young age. I gave her one week supply of both and told her to take two days off in between trialling both of these products. She said after two days her energy levels were huge, her hunger pangs went away, she didn't get crashes(excellent seen as she's a diabetic) at any point during the day and also felt lethargic when she ran out of both products which was all great results for both but I asked her which one would she buy and why? and she told me the "One Nutrition" due to it being easier to drink, didn't have that strong of a smell and also didn't leave that gritty last mouthful where you get a heap of the powder sitting in the bottom of your glass ( So it mixes really well). She also said she felt so energised by the one Nutrition product that she is now going to keep taking this particular product.

Personally I think the same the "One Nutrition" Power greens definitely done it for me in terms of it's taste, the energy I got from it, and also the added nutrients from the extra ingredients(kelp,broccoli). Overall it taste better, has more ingredients, doesn't leave that last gritty mouthful and lastly is cheaper per 100g than the super greens which is great!

 As always feel free to contact me if there is any questions you have or topics you would like me to write about: Aaronsmythpt@gmail.com

“Demand more from yourself than anyone else could ever expect.”
Anthony Robbins

Aaron

Supplementation 101

Just wanted to touch on base supplementation and the importance of it. I will let you in on the "what, why, when and how's" to supplementation in due time but I want to stick to the basics for the minute.

The most frequent question people ask me is "should I take protein and why"? And the answer to this question is yes, if you're training intensely 3-5 times per week whether it be Gym, football, rugby, gaelic. Essentially, when you train the muscle in your body is broken down and micro-tares occur within your muscles fibres. This is a shock for your body and in order to repair these muscles, protein is needed as fast as possible after a workout.

This is where whey protein comes into play. It is the fastest acting post-workout protein that we can avail of. This whey protein will target your broken down muscle and start the repair of the muscle ready for your next workout. I would also use whey at meals where I may not be able to get the amount of protein needed in my diet such as breakfast. Also I use it as a snack with some nuts/dried fruit in between meals to sustain a fast metabolism by feeding my body in small amounts but regular and often.

A lot of people shy away from protein and think it's only for gym junkies but it has so many added benefits to anyone who takes it, such as helps repair body cells, muscles and bones, has some anti-inflammatory and anti-cancerous properties, aids in weight loss when dieting.

Someone told me when I first started training and started asking questions about protein : Remember little miss muffet sat on her tuffet?... Eating her ......? Curds and Whey... ; There are long-standing health benefits of curds and whey. Curds are a dairy product that comes from coagulating milk and whey is the liquid remaining after the curdle has been strained. So there is nothing to worry about ; Whey protein comes from cow's milk, is a rich source of the body's essential amino acids, is digested and absorbed and is the most nutritious protein available.


I'm going to leave it at that and I hope this helps answer some of the questions you may have about supplementation. 


As always feel free to contact me if there is any questions you have or topics you would like me to write about: Aaronsmythpt@gmail.com



“Demand more from yourself than anyone else could ever expect.”
Anthony Robbins



Aaron

Welcome to Fit : Aaron Smyth

Hi guys! Welcome to my new blog.

I've been contemplating doing this for a while now and decided it was time to give it a shot!
Just to give you some info about myself, I am a world fitness physique competitor and for my age have been in the top 4 Physique competitors in Ireland since 2010 progressing to such competitions as the WFF Mr. Universe in summer of 2012 . I am a personal Trainer based in Dublin. I am currently Working with Dublin's premium health club David Lloyd in Clonskeagh, Dublin 4.

The reason I decided to do this blog is because so many people message me personally for a wide variety of advice from different types of supplements to diet/nutrition and workout/training advice. So I decided to blog my response to all of the questions people ask. All the advice that I can give you or am going to try to give you is through personal experience and if there is something I don't know, I will research it for you and maybe trial it myself to see what happens so I can give my honest opinion.

What to expect from this: I am going to try talk about a range of topics in regards health and fitness, diet and nutrition, supplementation,workouts, exercises that will be relevant and hopefully really beneficial to whoever reads it. I'm going to try and upload a few videos along the way too.

So I hope my blog will be a massive help to those who ask for advice and maybe answer some questions for those who read and may be too shy to ask.

“Demand more from yourself than anyone else could ever expect.”
Anthony Robbins

so keep and eye out for my posts,

Email me on: aaronsmythpt@gmail.com

Aaron