News With Bulk: Bodybuilding Updates From Around the World, November 2011
Posted on December 9th, 2011
It’s getting close to the end of the year and we’re sure that you’re thinking of your upcoming holiday blowouts … getting some calories from fat and alcohol instead of from complex carbohydrates and protein, and generally living again! Although for many of us the bodybuilding world is taking a backseat, there is still plenty happening in the industry. We check out all the news with bulk from November 2011.
Jodie Marsh: Muscles Only Acceptable if You Cover Them Up
Jodie Marsh didn’t say this, but her commentators have. Jodie went to the premiere of ‘Michael’, the film autobiography of Michael Jackson, a couple of weeks ago. She wore a tight fitting grape dress and had her hair down … according to the fashion, ahem, gurus at the Daily Mail, this made her look acceptable. Personally I thought her buff soldier-girl look was just fine, but who am I to judge?!
Syrian Bodybuilder Dies During Tournament
Mahmoud Ibrahim Alhdidi died while participating in the Men’s World Amateur Bodybuilding Championships held in Mumbai recently. He collapsed due to acute dehydration (preparing for the competition, trying to get down a weight division), and suffered a suspected heart attack. However diuretic overdose has not been ruled out, and even if there was no actual overdose the use of diuretics is known to affect salt balance, which has acute implications for heart function.
Bahamas Bodybuilders Clean, Wagga Wagga Bodybuilder Banned
While the bodybuilding federation in the Bahamas has given the sport and its athletes overall a clean record, Christine Zadel from Wagga has copped a two year ban. She tested positive for clenbuterol and glycerol, explaining her ban with ‘complacency’ and not checking the banned substances list for the INBA closely enough. She actually declared that she had taken glycerol to the INBA. The lesson? Check the list before saying that you haven’t taken anything from it.
Neighbouring New York Bodybuilders Crowned World Champions
Anna Millington and Cheryl Myers live only ten miles apart, and have both been crowned bodybuilding champions at the International Natural bodybuilding Federation Championships. Despite this, the pair have never met! It has been said for some time that the West Yorkshire area in New York area is a hotbed for bodybuilders. Looking for a girlfriend, anybody?!
Vegan Bodybuilding Gets Some Recognition
At Nutrition Warehouse we often speak with vegan bodybuilders. This is usually because they need an in-depth review of ingredient profiles of their bodybuilding supplements to ensure they don’t contain animal products. So while vegan bodybuilders are nothing new to us, Care2 recently highlighted how such an unexpected feat could be possible! Robert Cheeke was profiled on the website – a vegan bodybuilder who, while not enormous, is well proportioned and very sleek. It is possible!
Tags: bodybuilding, Bodybuilding Supplements, news
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News With Bulk: Bodybuilding Updates From Around the World, October 2011
Posted on November 4th, 2011
October is always an exciting month in bodybuilding, with a raft of state titles leading up to the National Titles for the Australian Natural Bodybuilding association (which were held in Fairfield, NSW this year). This month we’ve also found a few interesting global articles in the bodybuilding world … and we get to look beyond Arnie for a change!
Jodie Marsh Begins Bodybuilding .. to Vocal Criticism
Jodie Marsh’s bodybuilding hobby has made the news in several circles in the last month. As is to be expected, it was met by quite a lot of veiled or vocal criticism about Jodie’s ‘once beautiful’ body (“Put It away Jodie!”, Mail Online, 12th October 2011), and its terrible transformation … Personally we think Jodie looks hot! Like many bodybuilders, Jodie wasn’t popular at school. So most importantly, that new body has created plenty of newfound confidence – and we know that’s even more important than looks. There are some ‘undressed’ and endorsed pics of Jodie getting around the news at the moment … she’d probably love it if you checked them out.
Bodybuilding Gets a Lift at Southern Miss
This popular Mississippi university has seen a spike in interest in bodybuilding, according to its student press. And if you have “low reps, high weights, high protein, some cardio, supplements and some t-shirts with the sides cut out”, you have all it takes to be a bodybuilder according to the paper. Who knew!
Spike in Positive Drug Tests, Bodybuilders Return Most Violations
In the past year, 42 Australians have been found guilty of doping in sport by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority – the highest number since the Authority was established in 2006. Bodybuilders represented the highest percentage of those, with 10 of the individual violations from bodybuilders. Rugby league and cycling were the next wrost sports, followed by AFL, athletics, baseball and powerlifting.
It appears that many of the cases may be unintentional, from use of bodybuilding supplements containing the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine.
Bodybuilding Can Make You a Millionaire
Yep, it’s news to us as well! While there is some serious prize money on offer in bodybuilding competitions, only Tamer El Guindy, speaking to the Hindustan Times, could imply that it would make you a millionaire. Don’t worry, you haven’t missed out on any big secret here.
Monrovia High School Bodybuilding Competition Scrapped
Scantily clad women were apparently behind the decision to scrap close the Monrovia High School gym in the US for renovations, during the time when a bodybuilding event was planned. The school didn’t want female muscles or bodies associated with it … so it is not to be rescheduled. Sigh!
Mumbai to Host 65th World Bodybuilding Championship
Over 400 athletes are expected to compete, from 90 countries. Registration begins on the 3rd of November, so we might know who’ll be attending next month!
Tags: bodybuilders, General, news
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Cost of Supplements Heading Skyward?
Posted on November 4th, 2011
Have you recently been “enlightened” (cough cough) by Dr Joseph Mercola about how the cost of supplements will be heading skywards soon? There are quite a few problems with ‘Big Pharma’ in the United States, where the occasional pursuit of profits before health has led many to believe that ALL pharmaceutical companies are the source of ALL evil. Today we check out the stories and claims behind the scare campaign that tells us the cost of our supplements could soon outstrip our rent or mortgage. True? Ridiculous fiction? Somewhere in between? Find out …
The Molehill at the Centre of the Mountain
The cause of all the concern in the US is the upcoming Dietary Supplement Labelling Act of 2011, introduced at the end of June this year to the US Senate. It is currently being debated. The key points of the legislation are:
- Dietary supplements would be required to be registered with the FDA, just as other drugs and pharmaceuticals are
- Labelling requirements of dietary supplements would be made more stringent
The aim is to improve consumer choice and improve safety. Currently dietary supplements are not considered drugs, so there is little regulation of them apart from in the area of health claims. This would mean an extra layer of scrutiny of the safety and efficacy of supplements – only the good ones would make it to market.
This would doubtless filter through to the Australian bodybuilding supplement market, since many of our products are imported from the US.
What’s the Fuss About?
Quite a few alternative health practitioners are saying that this is a conspiracy to increase costs for small supplement manufacturers and have people turn more readily to standard pharmaceuticals.
I don’t see this side of the argument at all. I think that consumers have a right to know what’s in their supplements, and know that they are safe. The argument is that supplements are ALL inherently safe … but unfortunately that sounds like a generalisation to me. And you know the problem with generalisations … the exceptions can prove pretty harmful.
So, Is the Cost of Supplements Heading Skyward?
Bodybuilding supplements already undergo some fairly intense scrutiny. Most already stringently list their active ingredients and the relative proportions of each … so there should be very little or no extra cost added to your favourite supplements.
Don’t stress … this new law is designed to support the bodybuilding supplement manufacturers who are doing het right thing!
Tags: Bodybuilding Supplements, lifestyle
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News With Bulk: Bodybuilding Updates From Around the World, September 2011
Posted on October 10th, 2011
Spring has sprung, the birds are singing, the bees are stinging, and around the Southern hemisphere bodybuilders are stretching and awakening from a winter rest! Through the depths of winter the bodybuilding world was pretty quiet, but now there is plenty more news with bulk to check out …
Farewell Luke Wood …
Luke Wood, six-time Australian bodybuilding champion, died a couple of weeks ago after his body rejected a kidney transplant. Luke was also a personal trainer at Bankstown Train Station Gym, and some of you might have trained with him personally. His death comes only weeks before his scheduled wedding, so our special condolences go out to his fiancée.
Jay Cutler and Phil Heath Swap Places for 2011 Mr Olympia
For the last 5 years, Mr Olympia HAS BEEN Jay Cutler. Phil Heath knocked him off the perch this year, after a trial run last year in which he came runner up. Heath is 31 years old and has been competing professionally for only 5 years. Given the proclivity of Mr Olympia competitions to produce ‘runs’ of winners, Heath may be onto a streak. What do you all think – will Phil make it to four, five or seven titles like Dorian, Ronnie, Lee or Arnie?
MusclePharm and Optimum Nutrition Recognised in Supplement Awards
Not long after being named the official supplement supplier of the UFC, Muscle Pharm along with Optimum Nutrition have swept a recent supplement award ceremony. MuscelPharm won in the New Supplement of the Year category, Breakout Brand of the Year and Packaging of the Year. Optimum Nutrition won the Brand of the Year, Supplement of the Year, Muscle Building Supplement of the year, Weight Gainer of the Year and Glutamine of the Year awards. Also recognised were Gaspari Size-On for Intra-Workout supplement of the year, USP Labs Jack3d (of course!) for the pre-workout supplement of the year, USP Labs OxyElite Pro for the weight loss supplement of the year, and Cytosport MuscleMilk for the RTD of the year.
INBA Queensland Competition a Success
The Natural Universe Championships were held recently in Brisbane, and the results are in! The mens overall winner was Scott Reynolds, and Belinda Hunt took out the overall women’s figure title. Other notable wins include Chun Kei Michael Kwan in the Internediate Men’s category, Christine Gustafson in the Open Ms Figure Class 1, Attila Feher in the Open Men’s Class 1, Charlie Suma for the teens, Cleo Brown in the Ms Fitness category, and Ben Rees for the male sports model. Great work to everyone – we know many of the competitors and winners personally!
Arnie’s Memoirs Planned – “Total Recall”
If Arnold Schwarzenegger can rub the copyright maze, his forthcoming memoirs will be called “Total Recall”. It seems that he is planning to write and publish them while the latest controversy with Mildred Baena is still running hot. Okay, we’ll stop with the cynicism for a second … Arnie is a fantastic athlete and personality, and he certainly has a unique life story and way of looking at the world. Should be worth a flick!
Tags: bodybuilding, Bodybuilding Supplements, news
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More of The Lab and Your Life: BioScience in September 2011
Posted on September 30th, 2011
We usually review the top four or five stories in bioscience per month … but this time round there were simply too many interesting new studies to stop at one post. Knowledge is power … and power is something that all bodybuilders want more of! Today we give you a little more of the good stuff in round 2 of The Lab and Your Life.
Protein and Dairy Help Muscle Preservation While Losing Belly Fat
In the last ‘Lab and Your Life’ post, we looked at a study which showed that cardio exercise was the most effective for getting rid of visceral fat – the kind of belly fat that makes you big, hard and round rather than big, flabby and soft around the middle. A study recently published in the Journal of Nutrition found that women eating more protein, less carbohydrates and more dairy products had greater lean muscle gains concurrently with losing more belly fat. So, diet should be able to help you maintain that muscle from that hard work while getting healthier.
Goal-Oriented People Happier Than the Happy Go Lucky!
A study by the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University recently found that college students who are more goal oriented score higher on happiness scales than their less focused peers. Don’t stop setting those bodybuilding goals … just make them Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time- Limited. However, it’s also important to remember that if you just don’t feel happy when working to goals, this won’t be a magic doorway to happy-land!
Chocolate for Heart Health?
Given that there is heavy financial interest in promoting the health benefits of chocolate, there has been extensive research to date showing that giving in and indulging in chocolate can actually be good for you. A study in the well-respected British Medical Journal found that chocolate consumption is linked to a reduction in heart disease risk, but it is unclear whether a compound in the chocolate is responsible or there is a confounding factor.
In the meantime, if chocolate’s your poison, indulge within your carbohydrate allowance.
Bad Food Goes Down Easy with Force of Habit
USC researchers found that if you are in the habit of eating a particular food, you’ll happily chow down on it even when it tastes bad. They discovered that people who usually ate popcorn when they went to the movies would eat just as much stale, week-old popcorn as they would when it was fresh. So, make that chicken breast and spinach a habit!
Intensity, Not Duration of Exercise Determines Health Benefits
In order to get the best out of your exercise time, you need to ramp up the intensity. Danish researchers linked more intensive exercising to lowered all-cause mortality, and especially heart disease mortality. Current recommendations are for 30 minutes of moderate level activity a day.
Tags: bodybuilding, news, science
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The Lab and Your Life: BioScience in September 2011
Posted on September 28th, 2011
Our knowledge base about the body is constantly changing. We know plenty about the way we work inside … but never fear, there are still plenty of biological mysteries yet to be conquered! Today we explore some progress towards complete mastery of our bodies, in ‘The Lab and Your Life’.
Aerobic Exercise Better Than Weight Training for Burning Belly Fat
We all know that sit-ups won’t get you a six pack. However, scientists at Duke University Medical Centre have now found that overall, if you’re aiming to lose belly fat, cardio is the best way to do it. The study specifically looked at belly fat underlying the abdominal muscles in the viscera, surrounding the internal organs and the liver, This is the most damaging to health. So, if you want to get ripped, you may want to go backwards a little first. However, it is important to note that both resistance training and aerobic exercise help to prevent regain of fat after exercise ceases.
The Middle Path Always Wins?
A study published in the Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology has found that we always tend to prefer items or products in the middle of a row, whether horizontal or vertical. I’ve got no idea what the evolutionary advantage to that is!
However, you should be aware of this when doing things like shopping for bodybuilding supplements, choosing gym machines or even shopping for food. Make your decisions based on what’s best for you … not your brain’s strange automatic preferences!
Light Lunches to Lose Weight?
If you’re in a cutting phase and finding it hard to control your hunger or get the definition you want, try lightening up on the lunch. A lighter lunch doesn’t cause people to compensate by eating more calories later in the day (whereas skipping breakfast does), found the researchers.
Exercise Causes Stem Cells to Grow Into Bone Instead of Fat
This tidbit from the Lab and Your Life will be especially interesting to aging bodybuilders. Researchers at McMaster University found that mice who ran for less than an hour three times a week had mesenchymal cells that were more likely to become bone cells than fat cells. So, it isn’t just calcium intake and vitamin D production which influence your bone health.
Present Fathers = Smart Kids
Got kids? You can actively help build your children’s intellect by simply actively helping to raise them. Dad’s presence can also help make children more settled and better behaved. If you feel you don’t have time to hang about at home with training and work commitments, try to take your kids with you to exercise. Cardio exercise is especially suited to kids – swimming, bike riding, etc. And sons will love lifting weights with Dad – just don’t let your kids train to the point of pain or exhaustion, and they’ll be safe.
Tags: bodybuilding, news, science
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News With Bulk: Bodybuilding Updates From Around the World, August 2011
Posted on August 24th, 2011
The bodybuilding competition season has pretty much finished … the birds aren’t singing, the bees aren’t buzzing, and nobody wants to go to the gym! But the world of bodybuilding goes on. We have nearly hit spring, and the weather is just about right for getting your mind and body back on track instead of just maintaining. To get you in the spirit, we check out what’s new in the bodybuilding world!
Pan Pacific Championships
If you were looking for an excuse to hop on one of the cheap flights to New Zealand that are available at the moment, book one in time for the Pan Pacific Championships to be held in Auckland on August 28th. The event is booked for the bruce mason Theatre in Takapuna, from 12pm to 6pm. Gaspari, Horleys, Underground Muscle and Refine are sponsoring.
Aziz Sergeyevich Dies
This 22 year old bodybuilder was hardly famous, but he did pretty well for himself in his 4 or so years of bodybuilding. He was a skinny-kid transformation … and what a transformation! Zyzz, as he was known to his friends, was a male stripped with the Sydney Hotshots as well as an impressive lifter. He had around 52,000 Facebook followers, and shot (unwillingly) to fame when his older brother was convicted to possession of an anabolic steroid. He died in a Bangkok sauna, suffering an undiagnosed heart condition.
The Albert Arroyo Saga
The Albert Arroyo saga has been much bigger news in the States than over here. Arroyo filed for a disability pension due to back injury shortly before competing in a bodybuilding competition. The story was that he fell down a flight of steps and hurt his back so badly that he could no longer work for the Fire Department – the newspapers obviously think that he was able to work, and so does the public prosecutor. He has been charged with two counts of mail fraud. Arroyo says that he was used to working through pain, and that bodybuilding actually helped his back. The truth remains to be seen.
New Bodybuilder Lydnsey Jamieson Runner Up in Bodybuilding Federation’s Northern Championship
The prestigious bodybuilding competition saw Lydnsey Jamieson, who took up the sport only last year, named runner up. However, Lyndsey and her boyfriend both work as sports teachers in colleges. They’ve been together for 11 years, and took up the sport together. Nawwh!
Lou Ferrigno Appearing as The Hulk at Chicago Comicon
Lou Ferrigno waxed insightful in a recent interview about his upcoming appearance at Chicago Comicon, as the Incredible Hulk. When asked what it is about superheroes that draws so many to their stories, Lou said “We are all fascinated with power. We can relate to superheros, to their flaws and struggles. Their insecurities are often our insecurities”.
Not just a pretty face!
Tags: bodybuilders, bodybuilding, news
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2011 Mr. Olympia Shocker: Branch Warren Out Of The 2011 Contest!
Posted on August 23rd, 2011
Branch Warren will be in attendance at the 2011 Mr. Olympia in Las Vegas, but, unfortunately, he’ll have to be in the audience . Warren was in Atlanta over the weekend for an appearance. He slipped on wet pavement while stepping into his car. He heard a “tear” emerge from his left leg, and he was rushed straight to hospital.
Doctors at the Alanta Hospital, in Texas, confirmed Warren’s nightmare yesterday when they diagnosed his leg injury as a torn quadriceps tendon. The USA Texas resident will undergo surgery Monday , August 22, 2011, and is expected to recover fully in time to return to the stage in 2012.
Branch is a warrior and bounced back from injury on two previous occasions. He suffered both a biceps and a triceps tear in years past. Each time he came back bigger and stronger. Both of the previously injured body parts now possess larger dimensions than the uninjured sides.
Warren was in the running to out muscle Jay Cutler for the 2011 Mr Olympia but sadly he will not be in the running, making Cutler smile!
Nutrition Warehouse wishes Branch a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him in 2012.
Tags: bodybuilding competitions, branch Warren, Mr Olympia
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News With Bulk: Bodybuilding Updates From Around the World, June 2011
Posted on August 3rd, 2011
Winter is well and truly with us at this stage of the year, and the bodybuilders are divided into those that are taking a well-earned break over the most freezing months, and those that go hard and train through. The competitions have slackened off a little in Australia … but worldwide, bodybuilding news just keeps on being made! Here’s what’s been happening in muscle across the globe.
Wheelchair Bodybuilding Championships Show Us Real Grit
An annual wheelchair bodybuilding championships event was held recently in Savannah, Georgia. It’s ironic that at a time when there are more physical limitations on people, they feel a greater need to bust down the obstacles in front of them and focus on what they can do, instead of what they can’t. Shea Floyd recently won the Southern Isles Bodybuilding wheelchair division, and he looks pretty good for a guy who only has half a body to work with! And another good point … he’ll never have to learn to master the squat or deadlift. He said that he sees this as a ’speed bump’, not an obstacle, and his wheelchair is just another reason to push ahead with life. The second and third placed contestants look fantastic also – check them out.
Glandular Nutritional Supplements a Waste of Money?
You may have seen the ‘news release’ put out by the owner of a British sports supplement company. It states that boron and bull testicles are of no use as T-boosters, and hat no scientific study has shown any benefits from their use in bodybuilding. We tend to agree – boron is an ingredient in many of our multivitamin and general wellbeing products, but our T-boosters have much more evidence-based ingredients. Not including bull pizzle … you’ll need to go to Chinatown for that one.
Lianne McTavish Goes From Academic to Iron Maven
This is a little different to our usual stories of inspiration that pop up in the news grabs. Lianne McTavish is a professor at the University of Alberta, and embarked upon a bodybuilding lifestyle as an experiment! Her blog on the subject is called ‘Look Hot While You Fight the Patriarchy’. No, that is not as joke, unfortunately! McTavish looked awesome in the Edmonton Journal, though, and we do appreciate her hands-on approach to her work, which is in studying women’s bodies across cultures and times. Sounds like a job that Arnie would be good at …
And Speaking of Arnie …
How could we let a second month go past without mention of bodybuilding’s colourful most famous ambassador? MSNBC reports that Arnie is inspiring young men in Afghanistan to take up bodybuilding, and a craze is sweeping the capital city of Kabul. Arnie is a particular source of inspiration because of his success in various arenas, not just bodybuilding. In the more hardcore Islamic regions, men must be fully covered up and wear beards in the gym. Even in the less hardcore regions, though, it’ll probably be a while until women can enjoy the ‘pump’ as well.
Seen any interesting bodybuilding news in your neck of the woods? Leave a comment to let us know 
.
Tags: bodybuilders, bodybuilding, news, supplements, testosterone
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News With Bulk: Bodybuilding Updates From Around the World, June 2011
Posted on June 20th, 2011
The last few weeks have been marked by plenty of peaks and happiness in body building, and also a little sadness … but mostly amazement, as we continue to be stunned by exactly what the human will and body can do with a little motivation! Here’s the news for the early part of June 2011 in bodybuilding. Thankfully, we have another Arnie-free edition this time around .
NABBA World Championships Pass By Without Comment
According to NABBA’s Australian calendar, the NABBA World Championships were held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on the 11th of June. But do you think the ersults were available in any sort of easy-to-find place? Nope! They haven’t yet been added to the official NABBA winner’s list, but Alex dos Anjos of Brazil took out the overall winner’s spot, with Enda Wright the winner of Mr. Class I, Lucas Di Santi the winner of Mr. Class II. Winners and placings from Australia included Aled Barry, who took out first place in the Juniors division, Angelo Galati, who took out 6th in the Masters Over 40 division. Well done guys!
2011 ANB Asia Pacific International Results
However the 2011 ANB Asia Pacific International, which was held at Southport RSL on the Gold Coast, got a little more reporting. The event broke all of its previous attendance records, with 240 competitors over 3 days of competition displayed on a million-dollar stage with light show. The overall winners were Janet Kane (Figure), Michelle Goodall (Bodybuilding) and Nathan Wallce (Men’s Bodybuilding). Australian and New Zealand competitors represented most of the winners. Great works!
Ernestine Shepherd Added to Guinness Book of World Records
Ernestine Shepherd is 74 years old, but even looking at her face you wouldn’t guess that she is over 65. Her body is better than that of most 30-year-olds, and the Baltimore grandmother’s husband says he has trouble keeping ht guys away from her! Ernestine’s regular diet resembles what most of us live off in pre-competition times, with some chicken breast, a few veges, a glass of raw egg whites and a bit of brown rice. She has no desire for sweets … hopefully something we can all look forward to as we get older?
Juan Antonio Samaranch Dies
Juan Antonio Samaranch is an honrary IOC life president, and passed away in Barcelona at the end of April. His death was due to cardio-respiratory failure … if he hadn’t been in the hospital, he probably would have died in his sleep.
In the smaller bodybuilding contests around the world, we’ve seen big things from Bulgarian and Pakistani fitness fanatics – those guys have some shape! If you’ve noticed anything else interesting happening on the bodybuilding scene, feel free to let us know through the comments.
Tags: competitions, news, results
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