Dietary Supplement Ripoffs to Avoid: Amino Acid Pills

There is no long-term advantage for the strength trainee to taking expensive free form amino acid powders over simply ingesting whole proteins. However, if you do buy an amino acid powder (which I don't suggest) you expect it to contain single free form aminos acids, right?

Never trust the front label. Check the ingredients. The supplement rippoffs I am referring to are so-called amino acid capsules that actually contain overpriced whey or casein protein. Not free form single aminos but whole proteins compressed into a pill or put in a capsule. They will typically list an amino acid profile very prominently on the back of the label. This profile is nothing more than the typical amino acid yields of the whey or casein sources they use. When whey is used it is usually a mixture of whey protein concentrate or a mixture of concentrate and even cheaper non concentrated whey. Some may contain concentrates and isolates.

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Hook Grip Versus Alternated Grip for Deadlifts

Here's the scenario: A strength trainee walks into a gym (or bar) and sets up to deadlift around 335 pounds which will be a new personal record if he pulls it off. This guy weighs around 160 to 175 pounds. He's average weight and average height for a male.

As he has worked his way up from an initial pull of 150 pounds (with good form) his only problem has been maintaining quality and progressing in a sustainable way. Only recently has his grip strength started to pose a problem but he's managed to hold onto the bar and his latest personal record is 325 pounds.

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Corrective Exercise: What I'm Really Tired Of

I recently read a review in Leigh Peele's Blog of Nick Tuminnello's newest product. She mentioned that many people may be a bit tired of the conversation concerning corrective exercise. And for those who engage in strength training as a side line I can see it growing very tiring. I personally do not get tired of discussing things that are worthwhile to discuss. What I do get tired of is when conversation about something like training for strength becomes bottle-necked.

One of my members linked to an article about some self proclaimed "glute master". There seems to be a lot of variations on this theme but "ass master" was already taken. The article turned out to be a lot of very complicated thought that lead the writer to think that strength training was simply taking a bunch of "corrective" exercises (mostly supine or prone) and adding weight to them.

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Tryptophan Supplements: Do They Work and Are They Dangerous?

Many people, with or without any scientific evidence, are firmly convinced that the particular foods they eat have a direct influence on their mood, anxiety level and alertness. Perhaps the most well known manifestation of this belief is that certain foods make us sleepy, particularly those with high levels of the amino acid tryptophan. Turkey, at least in the US, is thought to cause sleepiness due to it's high level of tryptophan and this is said to explain why we are so desperate for a nap after Thanksgiving dinner.

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