Gym Monsters

Should you be using supplements as a teenager?

Nutritional Supplements have been used for years in a wide variety of areas.  Sports players use them to enhance their athletic performance.  New moms use them to keep themselves and their little ones in peak health.  Many times, teenagers will use them to keep their bodies lean and in top condition.  During puberty however, if the body’s delicate balance is upset it could cause serious damage later on in life.  The transitional years from childhood to adulthood can be a difficult time for anyway, yet even more so for those that aspire to be like sports superstars they see on television and in magazines.  Many teens believe that sports nutritional supplements are an easy way to increase their strength and stamina. However, a teenager can do much more harm than good to the mind and body by incorrectly dabbling with some of the nutritional supplements currently on the market.

A typical teenager (between the ages of 13 and 19) has a body that is already producing enormous amounts of growth hormones as well as testosterone / estrogen.  It is extremely important at this age not to overload your body in any one area as this can cause long term problems down the road.  There are however some good ideas for supplements that can safely improve your overall health and fitness.

1. A good set of multi-vitamins and minerals will help you avoid any nutritional deficiencies.  This seems like it should be an easy one to remember, but too many people forget about it.  If you are deficient in even one vitamin or mineral your muscle gains can be severely hampered, not to mention your health!
2. A high quality protein powder to take in between real meals can be an excellent way to increase your protein intake to the levels that you need.  Protein is made up of amino acids, which are the building blocks of muscle.  There are several forms of protein including Whey, Soy, Egg, and Casein.
3. A couple tablespoons of healthy fats such as flax oil, natural peanut and walnut oils and other healthy oils.  These can be added to protein shakes and other meals.

If you’re between the ages of 13 and 19, it can’t be stressed enough to stay away from andros, prohormones and testosterone boosting supplementation, or any form of growth hormone.  Anything you do at this point to boost your testosterone will only have the opposite effect on your body.  You should save the testosterone boosting for when your body starts to naturally decrease its testosterone at around age 25.  Right now, you should take full advantage of your age, and the hormones that your body is producing naturally.  Definitely don’t be discouraged from taking supplements at this time though.  Like I outlined above, the proper supplementation can be a vital key to your health and fitness.  As always, just make sure you use your head when choosing what’s right for your body.

The Team at i-Supplements.com

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Don't Believe the Hype - Just Believe in yourself

People are always looking for an easy way out, especially Americans. We are constantly looking for things that will make our lives easier, no matter what the cost or the effect it will have on our bodies over time. Marketers are making a killing off of this, especially within the last several years. Think about how many tele-marketing commercials you see or hear over the course of the day on average – especially those about how easy it is to be fit and healthy. They’re everywhere 24/7!
Just think about one of the last infomercials you heard. Now think to yourself how many people immedietly picked up their phones and dialed in to get their hands on it. Many bodybuilders aren’t much different – we run out to buy the newest, latest and greatest supplement that advertises steroid like gains. No supplement will have steroid like results unless you are taking steroids. We put off the time tested and true such as weight gainers and creatine for something new, and possibly ineffective in a non-lab setting. I see more young guys quitting because they expect too much and don’t achieve it, then get disappointed in themselves and just give up completely. They eat randomly, workout half-assed, and then make up excuses when no changes happen, then typically quit.

People who develop their bodies to the look that they strive for most likely get that way through hard work and never letting up. You must have a never say die attitude. Not only in the gym, but also in all aspects of life. Never let anyone tell you that it is impossible, or that it’s just a stupid idea. People say that to me everyday, and then are amazed and sometimes jealous when I actually go out and do it, and then succed.

On your way to the gym, think of the last time someone doubted you and picture the weights are all those people trying to stop you or hold you down. Carry this gladiator like mentality into the gym with you and see how good your workout is. Next time you are in the gym and coming close to that last rep, say to yourself never give up. Think of the movie Waterboy to get my point. (Hopefully you’ve seen it).

Bodybuilding is not a place for lazy people or people who try to find the easiest way out of things. It’s for people who bust through things. Barriers exist only to be broken, and that is why we are in the weight room, to push ourselves beyond these imaginary walls.
The Team at I-Supplements.com
Push yourself harder and harder everyday and never quit the fight! Check us out at www.i-Supplements.com now for all of your supplement needs.

Muscle Building Carbohydrates

If you’re looking to seriously start putting on the lean muscle mass this upcoming winter, then it’s time to revamp your diet and make sure it’s where it needs to be to make this goal a reality. Far too many individuals overlook critical aspects of their diet that could wind up costing them pounds of muscle they could have built.
If you get both the diet and workout combination right, you’ll find your results skyrocket because you have everything working in your favor. While protein will definitely be an absolute requirement to build lean muscle mass, the second thing that needs to be in place is a good carbohydrate source. Carbs will provide the energy that’s required to generate the lean muscle mass, taking your results up a level. Typical muscle building carbohydrates that are commonly used include potatoes, raw oatmeal, fruit, pasta and rice which are all relatively cost friendly and easy to prepare.
These are all great sources to have with your muscle building diet, but at the same time, it’s nice to have a bit more variation throughout your day.
Here are some forgotten sources of carbohydrates that you might want to consider.
-    Beans

-    Quinoa

-    Barley

Keep these carbohydrate sources in mind. Having variety in your diet will keep you interested in eating (which can start to wane when you’re taking in high volumes of foods), make sure you meet all your nutrient needs, and allow yourself to make the most of the workouts you’re doing.

The Team at i-Supplements.com

Check out our Bodybuilding Supplements page at www.i-Supplements.com

Teen Bodybuilding Tips

Getting started in teen bodybuilding early is very important and will help your success with future bodybuilding virtues. When done properly, you will enhance your development in the future and give yourself a kick start for a healthy lifestyle for many years to come.

Tip #1 Watch the Overall Volume Week to Week
While younger individuals do typically have far superior recovery rates than those who are into their 40’s and 50’s, during the earlier teen years because so many other growth processes are happening, this can eat at the total muscle building recovery you have. One mistake some teens make is doing far too much volume with their workout program, making it very difficult to recover.
If you focus on keeping the total number of reps per exercise around 25 and keep it at 4-6 exercises per workout, you should be right around where you want to be. Obviously there is some variation from person to person here, but that’s a good general guideline to start off with and then you can adjust the program based on how you’re feeling.
Tip #2 – Stick to Compound Exercises
The very first rule that you should be following is making sure that you do devote a good amount of time in your workouts to the compound exercises like bench press, squats, rows, deadlifts and shoulder presses. If you’re too wrapped up with performing isolation lifts, you’re not really working all that many muscles in the body, severely hindering the progress you could be making right now. Isolation lifts can have their place in a workout program both for teens and more importantly later on when you’re looking to refine the muscle you already have built, but for right now they should not be the focus.

Tip #3 Be Mindful of Nutrition
Third, never overlook the importance of nutrition when getting started with teen bodybuilding. What you put into your body on an everyday basis is going to play a very key role in the results you see, so if you’re not being careful here, you could not only reduce your results, but also impact natural growth processes in a negative way. You’ve likely heard someone say before that weight lifting can stunt growth and there is some truth to this fact, but it’s very dependent on nutrition. Since calories are essential for normal growth processes during your teen years, if you have too high of a daily expenditure compared to what you consume due to the additional weight lifting activity in there, then that mismatch in energy intake is what could result in smaller growth taking place. To help prevent this and ensure that you’re not seeing any negative side effects come about because of your training, make sure that you’re taking in plenty of calories. Most teens who are building muscle should be taking in between 18 and 20 calories per pound of body weight and in some cases, more than this.
Tip #4 Don’t Neglect Cardio
One big mistake that some teens make is thinking that they can get away without doing any cardio training or believing that cardio training will only hinder them with building muscle. There is some truth to the fact that too much cardio will certainly limit the amount of progress you make, however some cardio should always be included for health promotion. Many teens are already active in whatever sports they participate in so it never is a concern, but if you’re a teen who does no outside exercise apart from your workout program, it will be a smart move to include 2-3, 20-30 minute moderate paced cardio sessions in there as well. It can be as simple as a brisk walk or riding a bicycle; as long as it gets your heart rate up, that’s the main thing that you must be concerned about. This will help not only keep your heart healthy but will also keep you in better physical shape and prevent development of a weight problem that plagues so many younger adults today.

Tip #5  Don’t forget to stretch
Finally, the last teen bodybuilding workout tip that a good majority of teens do not pay attention to but should include is to include is stretching. Far too many don’t realize the benefits of stretching but since it doesn’t do much to help with overall fat loss or muscle building, many teens think they can leave it out of their routine. Be sure not to make this critical error. Right now when you’re young it’s the best time to improve your overall flexibility because if you don’t, it’s only going to be that much harder to gain flexibility, as you get older. Additionally, stretching helps to ensure that you’re fully capable of moving through the entire range of motion of all the exercises you complete, which is very important to receive full benefits. Stretching will only take five to ten minutes a day, but when done regularly, will really add up to high long-term benefits in the long run.

The Team at i-Supplements.com

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Flex Complex

Throughout the world, sports athletes and bodybuilders alike from age 20- 50 plus are seeking the most powerful dietary supplements to improve their performance. IGF-1 rich colostrum must be considered one of the most important training supplements today for enhancing exercise performance.

Flex Complex from TBR Labs, better known as Total Body Research Labs to many, is a revolutionary breakthrough formula containing super concentrated insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) rich colostrum, in addition to the hottest, top performing, high quality bodybuilding ingredients available including:

- Methoxyisoflavone

- 7-isopropoxyiso-flavone

- Diindolylmethane (DIM)

- SKW Creatine

Serious bodybuilders and athletes agree that Flex Complex is an essential athletic performance formula. It is a total formula for athletes and bodybuilders alike. It should be the first formula of choice for any bodybuilding or muscle-bulking program. Alone, IGF-1 rich Colostrum improves athletic performance by itself.

Athletes who are seeking greater strength, energy and endurance, also need to be able to deal with the consequences of sore and traumatized muscles so that they can keep training regularly. Flex Complex with IGF-1 rich Colostrum is an essential bodybuilding formula because it combines superior quality, specially concentrated colostrum with additional performance enhancing agents to help improve strength, energy and explosive performance.

The Team at i-Supplements.com

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GHenerate Growth Hormone

GHenerate Growth Hormone by LG Sciences was designed to increase lean muscle mass. Increases in lean muscle mass help drive body fat percentage down, giving you a leaner body as well as a stronger, more muscular one. GHenerate is one of the formulations available to athletes and body builders who want to pack on lean muscle safely and very effectively.

GHenerate Growth Hormone Benefits include:

- Increased feelings of overall well being

- Increased recovery times

- Better sleeping patterns

- Increased mental focus & clarity

- Increased fat loss

- Increased lean muscle gains

- Increased strength

- Anti aging benefits

The Team at i-Supplements.com

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T-BOL

Testosterone is a very popular topic among athletes and fitness enthusiasts here at I-Supplements. The positive and negative effects of testosterone therapy are widely debated by the medical community. Besides its use in sports medicine, testosterone is now being used to help combat many diseases and other health problems.

Testosterone has many great benefits including:

· Leaner Physique/ Muscle Definition
· More Muscle Mass/ Weight
· Overall Strength Gains
· Faster Recovery Time
· Elevated Sex Drive

With all of these positive qualities, Testosterone does have some negative effects on the body if too much is consumed. This substance should not be taken unless you are under the care of a doctor or health care professional because overuse can lead to many health problems such as:

· Gynocomastia (Man Boobs)
· Acne
· Male Pattern Baldness
· Cardiovascular Problems
· Inhibition of Natural Hormones

The effectiveness of Testosterone is undeniable and because of that, many different compounds have been created to help athletes and everyday people. The use of test can be very expensive and many doctors are still hesitant to recommend it. Many resort to obtaining testosterone illegally. This is, of course, a bad idea. Not only will it create a legal problem for you, a large portion of illegal testosterone sold is counterfeit and can cause additional health risks or fail to work at all. Also, when you inject testosterone, pain and inflammation are very common in the area of the injection. To avoid huge doctor bills and legal risks, I suggest a pro-hormone regimen. Take my advice and check out 3-AD, Trifecta Stack from Legal Gear, 4ad, or Methyl Masterdrol. These prohormones are designed to help boost your testosterone levels naturally without unwanted side effects. Enjoy your new libido and muscle gain.

The Team at i-Supplements.com

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Elite Gourmet Protein

Elite Gourmet protein by Dymatize is a great combination of whey protein (Concentrate and Isolate) and a proprietary milk protein matrix containing both Micelular Caseines and Caseinates. So not only does it taste delicious but it is great for you as well!

Protein powders off a wide variety of benefits including:

- Helps you obtain your daily protein intake

- Great as a snack or light meal

- Increases muscle size

- Promotes strength

- Provides you with increased energy levels

- Repairs body cells & muscles

Protein is an extremely important nutrient that your body requires on a daily basis. It consist of both essential and non-essential amino acids. As many of you know amino acids are the building blocks of your body. Our bodies are able produce non-essential amino acids from the other amino acids found within your body. However, your body is unable to produce essential amino acids and that is where it’s important that you get an adequate amount of protein daily from food, protein powder, such as that found in Elite Gourmet protein or other protein sources.

Protein, along with fats are very essential to kids and adults, because they form the structure of your joints and skeletal system. There are other important benefits of protein, which includes production of enzymes, cell and hormone regulation, stronger immune system and it’s also what develops the structure of your muscles.

The Team at i-Supplements.com

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SizeOn

Creatine Monohydrate Supplements hit mainstream bodybuilding in 1994 when EAS introduced their breakthrough product Phoshagen. At that time Phospagen was the best creatine product hands down, because at that time it was the only one! Phosphagen was just a plain old creatine monohydrate powder supplement.

Today though, creatine monohydrate supplements may come in many different forms such as:

- Creatine powder

- With carbs

- Sugar enhanced

- Liquid Creatine

- Micronized Creatine

- In protein

- Phosphocreatine

- Monohydrate

- Creatine Ethyl Ester

Creatine works by increasing ATP in your muscles. Consider ATP as gasoline for your muscles and think of creatine as an high octane gasoline that will make your muscles run longer. Creatine Monohydrate Supplements are great for athletes who are looking to increase their endurance. Did you know that the first real use of creatine monohydrate supplements for a beneficial athletic effect was in the 1992 Olympics? Sprinters used creatine powder to elevate their ATP levels in their muscles to prevent lactic acid and hydrogen ions build up. The use of creatine helped sprinters prevent this and keep a higher intensity rate for longer periods of time.

A Creatine Monohydrate Supplements is always a safe bet if you are looking to increase your strength and stay natural in the gym. Creatine is a great way to enhance your workout without breaking your bank account!

The Team at i-Supplements.com

If you are looking to use creatine for strength then consider products like Cell-Tech, Size-On, Cell-Mass, MMUSA Creatine Serum, No-Xplode or one of www.i-Supplements other cheap creatine supplements.

Hemodraulix

I started taking Hemodraulix about 5 months ago after stopping another nitric oxide supplement. I went around asking other people what they were taking and what they liked and heard nothing but amazing things about Hemodraulix! I read up online and browsed around looking at other similar products and finally decided to buy Hemodraulix after hearing and reading many of the awesome reviews of how well it works. Like I said I’ve been using it for now 5 months and it is by far the best NO supplement I have ever tried. Before, during and after all of my workouts I feel amazing. My energy is soaring through the roof and I have the best workouts, the biggest pumps, and an immense amount of strength. I’ve worked out without Hemodraulix several times and I feel so drained without it, I don’t think I ever want to work out without it again! Dominic – Portland, OR

The Team at i-Supplements.com

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