The Arnold Sports Festival is back and bursting at the seams.
/// Like the national deficit, the Arnold Sports Festival just keeps growing. Unlike the national deficit, that’s a good thing.
Named after its co-founder Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Arnold Sports Festival (ASF) is the nation’s largest fitness and sports spectacular, hosting more than 17,000 athletes who compete in 37 different events, including 11 Olympic sports. Held every year in Columbus, Ohio, home of Arnold’s partner in fitness fun, Jim Lorimer, the ASF started with bodybuilding competitions but now accommodates UFC fights, gymnastics, fencing, powerlifting, arm wrestling, table tennis and many other sporting and health activities.
The International Federation of Body Builders (IFBB) is well represented, with the centerpiece contest being the Arnold Classic championship for male bodybuilders. There’s also three women’s competitions: Ms. International (bodybuilding), Fitness International and Figure International.
If physique sports aren’t your bag, don’t worry — there’s something for everyone. More than 100,000 folks pass through the turnstiles to the Arnold Fitness Expo, which houses 650 booths representing the best in fitness- and health-related products and services. It costs only $10 to get into the Expo, and we guarantee that you’ll walk out with bags full of free goodies worth many times that.
No, you can’t miss it. Arnold himself will be there, as he always is, mingling with the Spandex and Lycra set. This year the Arnold Sports Festival will be held March 6-8, 2009. To order tickets, visit Ticketmaster.com or go to www.arnoldclassic.com, where you’ll also get travel and lodging information.
| Performance Lab Real Science Studies on Athletic Enhancement By Tim Ziegenfuss, PhD, CSCS Subject ›› Chromium Reduces Hunger Cravings Source ›› Anton SD, Morrison CD, Cefalu WT, Martin CK, Coulon S, Geiselman P, Han H, White CL, Williamson DA. Effects of chromium picolinate on food intake and satiety. Diabetes Technol Ther. 2008 Oct;10(5):405-12. Results ›› Although I don’t have many food cravings, many of my clients do. Up to now, very few supplements had any research supporting their ability to reduce food cravings. Surprisingly, chromium picolinate (CP), a compound that has enjoyed limited success as a fat-loss agent, was recently studied at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana. This eight-week placebo-controlled, double-blind study examined the effects of 1,000 mcg of CP in 42 overweight women. Results indicated that CP reduced hunger levels by 24%, food intake by 25%, and also reduced cravings for high-fat foods. Overall, this led to weight loss of 0.5 kg (1.1 lb) in the CP group, despite the fact that they were allowed to eat as much as they wanted. Practical Applications ›› This well-designed study supports the beneficial effects of chromium picolinate supplementation in women. To blunt hunger and reduce food cravings, take 1,000 mcg per day (500 mcg in the morning and another 500 mcg in the early afternoon). Ancillary benefits of this supplement include better regulation of blood sugar and cholesterol levels in persons with type 2 diabetes. |
Jellyfish Protein? For Real!
/// You’ve heard of the various benefits attributed to whey, soy, casein and egg protein, but how about jellyfish? In a unique twist, scientists have developed a protein extracted from certain species of jellyfish that they claim enhances memory. The extract has been dubbed “apoaequorin,” and according to industry sources, men and women given the supplement for 30 days noted statistically significant improvements in mental clarity, decision making, overall memory and ability to focus. Unfortunately, the clinical trial on this supplement was less than compelling, as it used an “open-label” design (i.e., it was not tested against a placebo). Nonetheless, I’ll be keeping an eye out for additional studies on apoaequorin to see if this unique jellyfish protein is the real deal.
UC The Difference In Your Joints
/// If you’re like me, you don’t take your joints for granted, but you shudder at swallowing a half dozen glucosamine and chondroitin tablets per day to keep them healthy. Enter UC-II, a specific type of undenatured chicken collagen that was recently compared to a 2,700 mg combination of glucosamine and chondroitin. According to the lead researcher, a daily 40-mg dose of UC-II improved physical function, stiffness, and pain in the knee twice as much and functional abilities three times as much as glucosamine and chondroitin. These results are impressive, especially considering this product only needs to be consumed once a day. Great news for your joints; not so great news for the chickens.
| Ask Dr. Z Q: If I’m shooting for fat loss, should I do my cardio session before or after weights? A: Afterward. Recent research has shown that performing cardio after training with weights burns more fat and calories than the reverse. But I’d still suggest starting every workout with five to 10 minutes of joint-specific cardiovascular exercise (i.e., if you are training lower body, warm up on the treadmill; if you are training upper body, warm up using push-ups, medicine balls, etc.). Also, stick to high-intensity interval training when performing cardiovascular exercise. The benefits to your aerobic conditioning level and postexercise metabolic rate are far greater than with standard run-of-the-mill cardiovascular exercise prescriptions. In other words, you’ll notice far better gains in your ability to perform at higher intensities, and your body fat will decrease much more quickly with interval-training exercise. Tim Ziegenfuss, PhD, CSCS, is an internationally recognized exercise and supplement scientist. |
