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The

Anabolic

Freak

Editor-in-Chief, musculardevelopment.com www.musculardevelopment.com March 2009

358

Dave, I used trenbolone acetate during the last eight weeks of my pre-contest diet, as you recommend. During that time, I suffered from terrible anxiety and headaches that seemed to worsen as the days passed. I also had trouble sleep- ing for more than 2-3 hours at a time. Could these symptoms be

attributed to the tren- bolone? If so, what

can I use as a substi- tute in my next

diet? I love the way I look while taking

tren, but I can’t take the side

effects. Trenbolone acetate is a very potent anabol- ic/androgenic steroid. Most people think of testosterone as being the most androgenic steroid available. The truth of the mat- ter is that trenbolone acetate is four to five times more androgenic than the gold standard, testosterone. As such, along with its great strength and muscle-building effects, you get a tremendous mood-altering effect. Many users report aggression, irritability and

general anxiety. For some, the anxi- ety becomes more than the per-

son can handle and they’re forced to stop using the drug.

For many, the inability to relax and turn your thoughts off results in trouble falling asleep.

While general anxiety and irri- tability can often be ignored or dealt with through medicinal means, tren- bolone’s blood pressure-elevating effect is serious business. Remember, the kidneys filter the blood and remove toxins. If the pressure going into the kidneys is too high, there’s a very good chance that over the course of several years, the kidney’s filtering appara- tus can get damaged. When the kid- neys can’t filter the blood at maxi- mal rates, the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) drops, and kidney func- tion is compromised. Since headaches are telltale signs that blood pressure may be elevated beyond what’s safe, I would suggest you go to your doctor for a com- plete workup. If your blood pressure is too high (diastolic pressure— lower number— greater than 90), I’d suggest cycling off the trenbolone for six to eight weeks to see if things return to normal.

If you’re really determined to use trenbolone, have your doctor write you a prescription for an anti-anxiety medication such as Lexapro or Zoloft. Additionally, the occasional use of Xanax or Valium is quite beneficial for sleepless nights and moments of extreme anxiety or panic.

If you choose to avoid using tren- bolone altogether, good alternatives would be Equipoise (boldenone), Deca-Durabolin (nandrolone decanoate) or Masteron (dro- mostanolone). They’re all highly ana- bolic, mildly androgenic compounds.

Dave, have you ever seen any positive results from topi- cal fat-loss creams? I know Dan Duchaine was a huge pro- ponent of topical yohimbine cream, but I haven’t seen or heard of any great results. I also see that one fat-burning cream on the market uses usnic acid (a component of your fat-burner, LIPOLYZE). Is there any merit to topical use of usnic acid?

I get at least three to five ques- tions per day concerning the use of topical fat-loss creams. I think the reason is that people want to find a way to spot-reduce fat in all their trouble areas. The truth of the mat- ter is that if an effective site-specific fat-loss cream existed, it would be selling off the shelves.

While Dan Duchaine was an advo- cate of using yohimbine on estro- gen-dependent fat cells, his theory was to spot-inject the yohimbine directly into the fatty tissues. Whether you rub the yohimbine on or you inject it locally, the result is usually the same— the stuff gets into the body and enters the blood- stream. Think about what happens when GH or insulin is injected local- ly. After a few minutes, it enters the bloodstream and starts exerting its effects in all the tissues throughout the body. In essence, you’re merely infusing the supplement or drug into the general circulation through a rather circuitous route. This certainly won’t cause localized fat loss and it might, in fact, have less of an effect due to the difficulty in absorption through the skin. Having said that, the use of a topical usnic acid won’t have a localized effect either, since the compound needs to enter the circulation and access all the cells of the body and cause the mitochondri- al membranes to become leaky and energy-inefficient.

I’m on a low-carb diet similar to the type you put your ath- letes on. Do you put your guys back on carbs for the off-sea- son? If so, can you tell me why? What’s the carbohydrate’s place in the process of building mus- cle? Dave, I know you’ll give me the No Bull answer!

Carbohydrates are like gasoline in a car— they fuel the car but they don’t affect the size of the motor. Off-season, you want to eat enough carbohydrates to fuel your workouts and feed your brain but if you over- do it, you’ll overfill the tank (glyco- gen stores) and you’ll wind up get- ting fat. Remember, carbs spare the protein and fats you consume so that they may be used for building and repairing muscle. If you don’t eat enough carbohydrates, some of the fats and protein will, invariably, get used for fuel. While you won’t lose muscle, the limited resources make it harder to grow at an opti- mal rate.

In the December issue of MD, Eric Broser wrote an article that listed seven reasons why a zero- carbohydrate diet is bad for bodybuilders. He claimed that low-carb diets result in no insulin production, high corti- sol, low thyroid, low GH, low IGF-1, a compromised immune system and impaired gene expression for muscle hypertro- phy. What’s the deal with these claims?

I really don’t want this to turn into a bash on Eric Broser’s response because I really like the guy and respect what he’s doing in the industry. However, when people make bold statements like this, I feel they must be held accountable for what they say. Let’s start by addressing the statement, “Without any carbs, there will be no insulin!” Eric then goes on to explain that without insulin secretion pre- and post-workout, you won’t transport vital nutrients into muscle cells. Anyone who knows anything about biochemistry will realize this state- ment is ludicrous, since glucose is constantly being made in the liver via gluconeogenesis (remember, 80 percent of the glucose you use dur- ing weight training comes from amino acids). In order to shuttle this glucose into the working muscle cells, insulin in required. Likewise, it’s important to understand that in a low-insulin environment, GH and IGF-1 levels are elevated. IGF-1 can do everything insulin can do (except store fat)… and it does it better! www.musculardevelopment.com March 2009

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BODYBUILDING WITHOUT GENETICS

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With regard to the statement that low insulin leads to increased corti- sol, I have to remind Mr. Broser that when consuming a high-pro- tein/moderate fat/low-carb ketogenic diet, cortisol levels will be low (not high) because the brain is feeding on fats. Contrary to what he’s think- ing, cortisol levels are much more elevated while on a high-pro- tein/moderate carb/low-fat diet, because the brain is constantly look- ing for glucose to feed itself. When blood glucose dips (especially between meals), cortisol (a stress hormone) is released, and it helps to raise blood sugar by telling the liver to turn amino acids (possibly com- ing from muscle) into glucose.

Given the fact that we now know that cortisol levels are low while fol- lowing a high-protein/moderate fat/low-carb ketogenic diet, Broser’s statement, “With more cortisol, there will be decreased thyroid func- tion” becomes much more relevant to his high-protein/moderate carb/low-fat diet. However, what he may have meant to say was that low insulin levels can decrease T4 (inac- tive thyroid hormone) to T3 (active thyroid hormone), thus reducing the

output of functional thyroid hor- mone. This is certainly true, and it’s why I recommend a weekly insulin- spiking ‘cheat meal’ once a week!

When addressing Broser’s state- ment that attempts to correlate ele- vated cortisol with low levels of GH and IGF-1, I have to again remind him that cortisol will be much higher on a diet where the brain is depen- dent on glucose (i.e., his high-pro- tein/moderate fat/low-carb diet). While on high-protein/moderate fat/low-carb ketogenic diets, insulin levels are low, GH levels are high, and IGF-1 levels are also elevated. Will the exclusion of carbs, pre- and post-workout, result in a sup- pressed immune system? No way! Remember, immune cells are made from protein and fat; therefore, it’s insane to think that no pre- or post- workout carbs would have any effect whatsoever. More likely, the

immune system will suffer on a diet that is deficient in essential fatty acids. When Dr. Scott Connelly was doing his initial research on burn patients, he found that diets as high as 10,000 calories in carbs per day wouldn’t stop patients from withering away and dying of wasting and

immune system failure. However, when amino acids and essential fats where added to the IV bags (at a mere 3,000 calories), the patients began gaining weight and resisting infection.

Finally, I’d love for Broser to show me one stitch of research that demon- strates that bodybuilders, who follow a high-protein/moderate fat/low-carb ketogenic diet, have compromised muscle hypertrophy genes. That’s one study I’d like to read. The problem is that it doesn’t exist.

Dave, I have seen a lot of new cortisol-reducing products on the market that contain the ingredient ‘adrenosterone.’ Is there any merit to these prod- ucts? Would they have any place in a pre-contest cycle?

While the hormonal precursor ‘adrenosterone’ has been talked about for many years, it’s still a very new product on the supplement market. Sold primarily by Patrick Arnold’s company, Ergopharm, under the brand name 11 OXO, adrenonsterone works by inhibiting the action of the enzyme, 11b- hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type

Name: Juan Morel Age: 26

Height: 5’11”

Weight: Off-season: (260); pre-contest: (215) Contest Highlights:

2007 NPC New Jersey East Coast, 2nd_, light-heavyweights

2007 NPC Eastern USA, 16th, light-heavyweights 2008 NPC New Jersey Suburban Championship, 1st_{place, heavyweights; overall}

2008 NPC Eastern USA, 2nd_{, heavyweights} Current Profession: personal trainer

Juan ‘Diesel’ Morel first appeared in the pages of Muscular Development after sending me an impressive photo of himself when he was incarcer- ated at the Arthur Kill Correctional Facility in Staten Island, NY. Several months after this photo ran in the Prison Bodies section of this column, Juan was released from jail and he contacted me for my help in preparing for an upcoming body- building competition in six weeks. I was a little taken aback at first, but I truly admired his courage and determination. Amazingly, Juan

wound up placing second at the 2007 NPC New Jersey East Coast and then one week later, he failed to make the cut at the ultra-competitive NPC Eastern USA. This taste of compe- tition only served to fuel Juan’s desire to be the best.

Juan Morel’s story started many years earlier on the mean streets of Jamaica, Queens. By his own admission, he was

always in trouble and he never thought he’d leave his ‘hood. According to Morel, “People said I’d never amount to anything and that I’d either be dead or in prison by the time I was 21. The sad part was that I believed them.”

Despite all the negativity in Juan’s life, he did shine when it came to drawing. His art teachers in high school were the only ones who believed in him and his artistic talents. Unfortunately, at age 16, Juan dropped out of school and became addicted to the streets— selling drugs and wasting his life playing handball and basketball in the park.

Everything changed when Juan turned 19. His beautiful daughter was born and his life turned around. He left the streets and went to live with his parents and his daughter’s moth- er in the Bronx. However, by age 21, misfortune struck while Juan and his best friend were ‘play wrestling’ on the floor of his house. Juan accidentally broke his friend’s neck, which ultimately resulted in the boy’s death. If the guilt of what happened wasn’t bad enough, Juan wound up serving four long years in prison for his unfortu- Anabolic Freak

of the Month: Juan Morel

1 reductase. When this enzyme sys- tem is blocked, cortisone can’t be converted to its catabolic end-prod- uct, cortisol. While inhibiting cortisol sounds like a great thing for body- builders because of the immune- suppressing, abdominal fat-storing and muscle-wasting effects, we must also remember that cortisol has many important actions in the body such as blood sugar regulation and anti-inflammation.

I’ve talked to a few people who’ve used 11 OXO, and most thought it worked pretty well. They felt like they recovered better from their workouts and they had an easier time drop- ping body fat. Increased recovery can result from less

catabolic hormones being produced follow- ing stressful workouts. Likewise, when cortisol levels are lowest, less glucose gets produced in the liver via gluco- neogenesis. Lower blood sugars result in lower insulin output. This leads to less body fat storage. On the neg- ative side, several users of 11 OXO whom I spoke to complained of chronic joint pain. When too much cortisol is inhibited, inflamma- tion can rise to unsafe levels. Therefore, if

you’re gonna use a product like 11 OXO, listen to your body and back off the dosage if you start experienc- ing painful joints or symptoms of low blood sugar.