Macrobolic’s BodyBlog

These are the Claims made on Bodybuilding.com’s website, found here:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/mhp/t2.html

1. Increases Your Natural Production of Testosterone by 400%
2. Cripples SHBG and Increases “Free Testosterone”
3. Stops Testosterone to Estrogen Conversion
4. Blocks Estrogen Receptors
5. Lowers the Conversion of Testosterone to DHT

Here are the ingredients in groups of what they are supposed to do (from what I was able to research at the time):

Increase Natural Production of Testosterone
Tribulus Terrestris
Fenugreek
Avena Sativa (by supporting nervous system)
Tongkat Ali
DIM
Cordyceps

Bind to SHBG
Stining Nettle
Pygeum africanum extract

Stop Conversion to Estrogen or Block Estrogen Receptors
Red Clover Extract
Flaxseed
DIM

Lower Conversion of Testosterone to DHT
Beta Sitosterol
Zinc
Saw Palmetto

Increase Bioavailability
Bioperine

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The theory behind the product revolves mostly around Tribulus Terrestris extract. It should be able to increase luteinizing hormone (LH) which can then be converted into serum free-testosterone (T). 2

In an article titled, Tribulus Terrestris Update, by Richard B. Kreider, PhD., he gives a brief history of the supplement and also the theory behind its mechanism:

Tribulus terrestris is a plant (also known as puncture weed/vine or caltrops) that is mainly grown in sandysoil environments. It produces a fruit that is protected by a spiny burr. The extract from the fruit has been used in herbal medicine as a diuretic, for colic pains, and to fight hypertension and hypercholesterolemia

He goes further on to say:

The active agent in Tribulus is believed to be protodioscin. Protodioscin is a precursor to dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). As you may know, DHEA and androstenedione are precursors to testosterone. As one ages, androgen levels decline. Therefore, DHEA and androstenedione supplementation have been theorized as a means of naturally increasing testoserone levels particularly in older individuals. Although Tribulus is a precursor to DHEA, Tribulus is believed to indirectly affect testosterone levels by stimulating the release of leutinizing hormone (LH). LH serves to stimulate the natural production of testosterone. Theoretically, moderately increasing testosterone availability during training may promote greater gains in strength and muscle mass.

The combination of all ingredients, if all of them work as stated, would be a logical combination. If one is able to increase production of LH or T, keep it from binding to SHBG or from converting into estrogen or DHT, and make the ingredients more bio-available so that they work better, there would be a significant increase in testosterone and therefore, it should allow for gains in lean muscle mass and strength.

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What are they going to do next, jail the kids that chose the name?! This is outrageous. These people need to seriously take a step back and look at what they are doing. Ugh!

Briton allowed her class of 7-year-olds to choose teddy bear’s name

KHARTOUM, Sudan - A British primary school teacher has been arrested in Sudan, accused of insulting Islam’s Prophet by letting her class of 7-year-olds name a teddy bear Muhammad, her school said on Monday.

Colleagues of Gillian Gibbons told Reuters they feared for her safety after receiving reports that young men had already started gathering outside the Khartoum police station where the Liverpool woman was being held.

Teachers at Unity High School in central Khartoum said Gibbons, 54, made an innocent mistake and simply let her pupils choose their favorite name for the toy as part of a school project.

Police arrested Gibbons on Sunday at her home inside the school premises, said Unity director Robert Boulos, after a number of parents made a complaint to Sudan’s Ministry of Education.

Boulos said she had since been charged with “blasphemy,” an offense he said was punishable with up to three months in prison and a fine.

A spokesman from the British Embassy in Khartoum said it was still unclear whether Gibbons had been formerly charged. “We are following it up with the authorities and trying to meet her in person,” he said.

Boulos said he had decided to close down the school until January for fear of reprisals in Sudan’s predominantly Muslim capital. “This is a very sensitive issue.”

“We are very worried about her safety,” he added. “This was a completely innocent mistake. Miss Gibbons would have never wanted to insult Islam.”

Class voted on toy name
Boulos said Gibbons was following a British National Curriculum course designed to teach young pupils about animals and their habitats. This year’s animal was the bear.

Gibbons, who joined Unity in August, asked a girl to bring in her teddy bear to help the second grade class focus, said Boulos.

The teacher then asked the class to name the toy. “They came up with eight names including Abdullah, Hassan and Mohammed. Then she explained what it meant to vote and asked them to choose the name.” Twenty out of the 23 children chose Muhammad.

Each child was allowed to take the bear home at weekends and asked to write a diary about what they did with the toy. Each entry was collected in a book with a picture of the bear on the cover, next to the message “My name is Muhammad,” said Boulos.

The bear itself was not marked or labeled with the name in any way, he added, saying Sudanese police had now seized the book and had asked to interview the 7-year-old girl.

Boulos said the first he knew about the course was last week when he got a phone call from the Ministry of Education, saying a number of Muslim parents had made formal complaints.

One Muslim teacher at Unity, who also has a child in Gibbons’ class, said she had not found the project offensive.

“I had no problem with it at all,” the teacher said. “I know Gillian and she would never have meant it as an insult. I was just impressed that she got them to vote.”

The country’s state-controlled Sudanese Media Centre reported late Sunday that Gibbons had been arrested for “insulting the Prophet Muhammad.” It said charges were being prepared “under article 125 of the criminal law” which covers insults against faith and religion.

No one was immediately available for comment from Sudan’s ministries of Education or Justice.

Unity, an independent school founded in 1902, is governed by a board representing major Christian denominations in Sudan, but teaches both Christians and Muslims aged 4 to 18.

Do not be afraid to share these with your neighbors, those who may not know how to care for a dog or cat during the winter months. You could be the one who saves the animal’s life!

http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pets_coldweathertips

Brrrr…it’s cold outside!  The following guidelines will help you protect your companion animals when the mercury dips.

1. Keep your cat inside. Outdoors, felines can freeze, become lost or be stolen, injured or killed. Cats who are allowed to stray are exposed to infectious diseases, including rabies, from other cats, dogs and wildlife.

2.  During the winter, outdoor cats sometimes sleep under the hoods of cars. When the motor is started, the cat can be injured or killed by the fan belt. If there are outdoor cats in your area, bang loudly on the car hood before starting the engine to give the cat a chance to escape.

3. Never let your dog off the leash on snow or ice, especially during a snowstorm—dogs can lose their scent and easily become lost. More dogs are lost during the winter than during any other season, so make sure yours always wears ID tags.

4. Thoroughly wipe off your dog’s legs and stomach when he comes in out of the sleet, snow or ice. He can ingest salt, antifreeze or other potentially dangerous chemicals while licking his paws, and his paw pads may also bleed from snow or encrusted ice.

5. Never shave your dog down to the skin in winter, as a longer coat will provide more warmth. When you bathe your dog in the colder months, be sure to completely dry him before taking him out for a walk. Own a short-haired breed? Consider getting him a coat or sweater with a high collar or turtleneck with coverage from the base of the tail to the belly. For many dogs, this is regulation winter wear.

6. Never leave your dog or cat alone in a car during cold weather. A car can act as a refrigerator in the winter, holding in the cold and causing the animal to freeze to death.

7. Puppies do not tolerate the cold as well as adult dogs, and may be difficult to housebreak during the winter. If your puppy appears to be sensitive to the weather, you may opt to paper-train him inside. If your dog is sensitive to the cold due to age, illness or breed type, take him outdoors only to relieve himself.

8.  Does your dog spend a lot of time engaged in outdoor activities? Increase his supply of food, particularly protein, to keep him—and his fur—in tip-top shape.

9. Like coolant, antifreeze is a lethal poison for dogs and cats. Be sure to thoroughly clean up any spills from your vehicle, and consider using products that contain propylene glycol rather than ethylene glycol. Visit the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center more information.

10. Make sure your companion animal has a warm place to sleep, off the floor and away from all drafts. A cozy dog or cat bed with a warm blanket or pillow is perfect.

Stay safe and have fun.

And remember, if you choose to drink, DO NOT DRIVE!

Don’t risk it. See everyone tomorrow.

This is an excerpt from Ron Harris’ column in IronMan Magazine, "A Bodybuilder Is Born: What was your excuse again?" that I thought I would share with the Brotherhood. The column is about a fictional character named Randy who trains with Ron. But the story of the following man, Greg Rando is real….

The night show was going to be pretty thrilling because we had not one but three enormous guest posers: Jay Cutler, Gunter Schlierkamp and Dave Palumbo…

What I didn’t know- because he wasn’t listed on the contest flyer- was that there was fourth guest poser, one who would make a much more significant impression on all of us than the three giants would.

Greg Rando was his name, and I had known him for about 10 years. Greg won the Team Universe Overall Championship in 2001, defeating some pretty heavy hitters from the other classes to do so: Marvin, Ward, Derik Farnsworth, Tito Raymond and Jeff Willett. Greg had earned his pro card in the IFBB and was just three weeks away from making his pro debut at the Night of Champions in New York. He is also a successful business owner, with his own gym and a thriving personal-training business.

Oh wait, did I forget to mention something? Greg is 34 years old and has been legally blind since he was 15.

Emcee Mike Katz introduced Greg and informed the audience that he was visually impaired. As a stagehand led him to the center of the stage, I nudged Randy.

Randy-"Jeez, I just realized he can’t even see how great he looks, can he?"

Ron-"No, he can’t. Vain bastards like you and me must clock in about an hour of mirror time ever day checking our buffed selves out. Greg is a professional bodybuilder and has never once flexed in a mirror to appreciate how awesome he looks. Makes you think doesn’t it?"

Randy-"Yeah, If he can look this good with a handicap like that, what the hell is my excuse?"

Ron-"Exactly. Guys like Greg who let nothing get in the way of achieving their goals make us all stop and realize most of the excuses we have are just plain lame. I have heard so many excuses from guys who say they want to have a bodybuilder’s physique but the can’t because they don’t have the time, they don’t have the money, their kids or their wife are a hassle, they have a bum knee or lower-back problem, you name it. What was your excuse for a while Randy?"

Randy-"Uh, I couldn’t get big because I wasn’t using steroids". (How many times have we heard/thought this?)

He shook his head as he admitted this, knowing how foolish that belief had been.

I saw Greg three weekends later onstage in New York, competing against 45 other IFBB professionals. He didn’t win, and he didn’t even make the top 15. But there was no doubt in the mind of anyone in that theater that he was a champion. Rando got louder and heartier cheers and applause than almost any other man in the show, even though most of the others had faces and physiques that were plastered all over the magazines every month and thus far more recognizable.

Flex Wheeler was sitting next to me and stood up to give him an ovation.

Since that night we saw Greg guest pose, both Randy and I have had a new attitude in the gym. It’s clear now that whatever we were allowing to hold us back was nothing but an illusion. Nothing can prevent you from making your dreams come true unless you let it.

There is a phrase that says, "Excuses are lies we tell to ourselves." I really believe that. Now you need to ask yourself this question, and think hard:

"What was your excuse again?"

http://www.gregrando.com/

I just finished my RecoverX post workout shake (with 1/8 cup of oats), so I will now be switching to 2 scoops of a mixed protein powder, 8 oz milk, and 1/8 cup of oats.
This will reduce workout day total calories by 102 kcal, 41 grams of carbohydrates, fat intake will be the same, and I will be adding 14 grams of protein. This should keep insulin response PWO to a minimum which is something I’ve read about doing during a cut. We’ll see how this goes.

I am hoping that the reduced calories, and the reduced amount of carbohydrates will assist me in accelerating my fat loss. To date, I have lost very little weight, even though the bf% is going down, it is EXTREMEMLY slow, so we’ll see how it goes.

Didn’t have a chance to post this yesterday, but these are still good tips nonetheless.

Many youngsters dabble in devilish behavior this time of year, and often, animals are the targets of their pranks. But what’s a “treat” for the kids can be a cruel trick for a dog or cat. Here are some tips to help keep your animals safe on this haunting holiday:

Most importantly, keep animals inside. For cats-especially black cats, who have unfairly been associated with “evil forces”-the days leading up to Halloween can be dark, indeed, as pranksters often go on the prowl for roaming kitties. In fact, many animal shelters refuse to adopt out black cats during the entire month of October. (As a worker at a Detroit shelter put it, “Nobody gets a black cat during the month of October if they ask for one, no matter how nice they are.”)

Dogs should be kept indoors, too. Some kids think that letting dogs out of their yards on Halloween is a great trick, but it’s a terrifying experience for dogs, who run from the noise and strangely dressed people and become lost. Dogs can also be injured when kids poke at them through fences or pelt them with eggs.

Put animals in a secure room during trick-or-treat time. Cats can quickly slip out the front door, and dogs sometimes try to bite unsuspecting kids, thinking that they’re intruders. For everyone’s safety, it’s best to keep animals inside a bedroom or family room, away from all the commotion.

Don’t take dogs on trick-or-treating trips, when most kids are more interested in collecting candy than watching the dog. Dogs can easily become frightened by the endless stream of laughing and screaming children and run off or bite someone.

Keep bowls of candy out of animals’ reach, and make sure that kids know not to share their goodies with four-legged friends. All candy (and wrappers!) can cause animals to become sick, and chocolate, which contains an ingredient poisonous to dogs, can kill. A simple cat or dog treat will make animals’ Halloween great without making them sick.

Keep curious noses and paws away from candles and party favors. Jack-o-lanterns lit up by candles are appropriately spooky, but they can burn animals (and children) or start fires if tipped over. The ink used in some brightly colored decorations, like orange streamers and paper pumpkins, is toxic to animals, and swallowed balloons or party favors can block an animal’s digestive tract.

Remember that animals aren’t party props. Fido may look cute wearing a witch’s hat, but many animals become upset if forced into clothing. Costumes that are kept in place with tight rubber bands can cut off circulation. And while some party-planners think that it’s frightful fun to have a black cat jump out of a closet at guests, the frightened kitty (and guest) probably won’t agree.

By taking a few simple precautions, everyone-humans and animals alike-can have a safe and happy Halloween.