February 09, 2001
Issue # 33

EXTREME Q&A
by Jason Meuller

 
AHHHHH!! WHERE’S MY REJOOV???

As I was going to press with the new issue late Thursday night, I was contacted by Dr. Conan, head of Barin Corporation, the company behind Rejoov.  The kind Doc explained to me that his current web hosting company had suddenly gone out of business without contacting him beforehand, and that his site would be out of commission for up to a week.  This allowed me to calm several AE members who had contacted me in a panic, apparently the cleaning bug had bit them and they were without the necessary product (Rejoov) to properly clean their clocks.

For now, Rejoov can still be ordered COD through both email and telephone, although email is the best way to reach Dr. Conan.  His email address is drconan@prodigy.net and you’ll need to email him your name, address, phone number, and desired shipping method (UPS ground, 3 day, 2 day, or overnight).  The prices for Rejoov are $89/bottle for up to 11 bottles, and $60/bottle if you order 12 or more.  Somax sells for $39/bottle for up to 11 bottles, and $25/bottle for 12 or more.  If you’d like to place a phone order, call 770-281-2887 and leave the same information as outlined above.  Bear in mind that COD orders must be paid for with a cashiers check or money order.

If you’re new to AE and have no idea why we’re talking about a cleaning product on a bodybuilding board, please read Grendel’s article in the current issue that discusses some of the amazing properties of 1,4 butanediol.  Also known as tetramethylene glycol, 1,4 BD is the active ingredient in Rejoov.  Happy cleaning!

THE ANDRO-SPRAY CHALLENGE 

Well, I wanted to start the Andro-Spray challenge this week, but believe it or not, I had trouble getting five volunteers for the project.  Once I told all the prospective subjects that we’d be printing their real identity and photos on the site, everyone’s desire to participate suddenly dried up.  Hey folks, were testing a legal OTC supplement here, not some illegal offshoot of crack!  Anyway, I now have all five test subject lined up, and am just waiting for their before photos to arrive so we can start the test.  Believe it or not, some of these guys don’t have digital cameras or scanners!  Sheesh, you’d think they were living in a cave and reading AE on some huge cabinet-sized computer filled with vacuum tubes!  Anyway, look for the before photos and short bio each test subject to appear next week.  We’ll see if this product has any practical application to natural bodybuilders or not.  Kudos to Pat Arnold and Ergopharm for having balls big enough to submit their product for testing in this fashion. 

THE GH TEST 

One more thing before we get to the Q&A.  We’ll start the GH test discussed in the Extreme Q&A Issue #31 in two weeks, again with before pictures of our lucky test subject.  He’ll be using 6 IU’s of GH a day for a period of 90 days, along with insulin, T3, and a healthy dose of anabolic steroids.  For the exact particulars of our GH test, please refer of issue #31 for the protocols that will be followed for the 90 days. 

I must admit, I’m rather proud of the fact that we’re bringing you real world results of products that have generated a lot of interest in the bodybuilding world.  To the best of my knowledge, we’re the only bodybuilding publication to ever test products in this fashion.  I’m happy to say that AE has the biggest balls in bodybuilding, and we’ve all started to develop back problems from our huge gonads!!

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE CURRENT TREND OF USING CRANK AND ECSTASY TO CUT UP?

Question:  I’ve been hearing a lot about the current trend in bodybuilding to use crank and ecstasy to prepare for bodybuilding competitions.  I even read an article on the Nuclear Nutrition of website that was about using GHB and ecstasy for contest preparation.  So, my question is this.  What do you think about the use of certain recreational drugs to prepare for a contest?  Is this a good idea or not?

Answer:  I suppose it’s natural for bodybuilders to start using recreational drugs as part of their pharmaceutical bag of tricks.  After all, drug abuse in both bodybuilding and fitness competitions has gotten so bad that both sports have absolutely nothing to do with health and fitness anymore, they’re both a test of how far the human body can be taken through the use of performance enhancing drugs.  Even fitness competitors are resorting to the use of dangerous pharmaceutical strategies, using things like DNP and insulin in order to come into condition for a show.  A decade ago, the thought of combining dangerous recreational drugs with steroids would have been considered the ultimate folly.  Now it’s becoming increasingly more accepted.

Let’s look at each of these drugs and examine why they’re effective for bodybuilding.

GHB-  I’ve tried to dispel many of the myths surrounding GHB in past article in Anabolic Extreme, so I won’t go into detail here.  Bottom line, GHB is not the killer drug it’s made out to be in the media.  In fact, I would go so far as to say it’s impossible to die from an overdose of GHB.  That flies directly in the face of what the media will report, but in almost every case of death that’s been attributed to GHB, the individual involved was using at least one drug in conjunction with the G.  Yes, combining alcohol and other depressants with GHB can result in severe consequences, including death.  But on its own, GHB is remarkably safe, even at incredibly high doses. 

Ok, so what does GHB do for bodybuilding?  Again, reading the literature on GHB would have you believe that it’s the best GH releaser available.  And realistically, it probably is, a very famous Japanese study showed a nine-fold and sixteen-fold increase in GH levels 30 and 60 minutes respectively after administration of 2.5 grams of GHB in six healthy males between the ages of 25-40.  GH levels were still elevated over 7 times over baseline after 120 minutes. Although it should be noted that the 2.5 grams of GHB was administered intravenously in this study, one would expect that oral administration would produce similar effects. 

So, one would think that GHB would build muscle like nobody’s business, right?  Unfortunately, real world use of GHB doesn’t bear out the results one would expect from reading the studies done with GHB and growth hormone release.  I’ve seen dozens of bodybuilders use GHB for extended periods of time with no appreciable muscle gain, and talked to hundreds more who confirm my first-hand observations.  Further investigation into the effects of GHB reveal that while it does raise GH significantly, it also raises prolactin levels as well.    Since prolactin will serve to counter many of the beneficial effects of GH, it becomes readily apparent why GHB is not a magical muscle-growing, fat-loss drug as it’s been touted in the bodybuilding literature.

So, what does GHB do for bodybuilders?  Realistically, it does one thing, which is help you sleep.  I’m sure all of you that have used significant amount of testosterone and other steroids can attest to the insomnia these drugs will induce.  And the drugs that are used to increase fat loss while dieting, DNP, clenbuterol, and ephedrine and its related compounds will all make normal sleeping very difficult.  And since sleep is a vital component to bodybuilding success, GHB can be a very effective tool for bodybuilders that are suffering from insomnia.

It should be noted that GHB will induce deep sleep for only a few hours at a time before it begins to wear off and the person is awakened from the sudden flood of stored up dopamine.  In order to get the best results from GHB, it’s often necessary to take another 3 g dose about 3-4 hours after the first in order to get a good 6-8 of quality sleep.  For this reason, many GHB users will keep a dose next to their bed and take it immediately after they begin to wake up from the first dose.

It should also be noted that GHB can be incredibly addicting, and can cause both psychological and physiological addiction.  While this information on physiological addiction is the exact opposite of what I’ve printed in the past, I’ve seen first hand experience of physical withdrawals caused by GHB, and these withdrawals have now been documented in scientific literature.  Typical withdrawal symptoms after long-term GHB use will include severe agitation, mental status changes, elevated blood pressure, and tachycardia.  Treatment for withdrawals will include the use of high doses of benzodiazepines for several days following cessation of GHB use.

Methamphetamine-   It’s recently become very en vogue for bodybuilders and fitness competitors to use methamphetamine in order to cut up for a show.  That’s because meth seems to be the perfect dieting drug, one that not only gives you an overall sense of well-being, but raises metabolic rate and decreases appetite as well.  And meth does do all three of these things very effectively.  However, it also does a lot more, and in my opinion, is the worst recreational drug out there.

Much like GHB, methamphetamine works to increase a person’s sense of well being by affecting dopamine levels in the brain.  However, when coming off meth, dopamine production is severely curtailed, resulting in a severe chemical imbalance.  Users crave more of the drug to return to feeling normal.  This is one of the reasons why meth is so extremely addictive. It also increases metabolic rate by acting as a very powerful CNS stimulant and by raising body temperature.  This also results in insomnia (meth users are often awake for days at time), nervousness, tremors, irritability, paranoia, anxiety, and aggression.

Realistically, meth would be a great drug for contest prep if it weren’t so addictive.  No physique competitor uses meth thinking that they are going to become severely addicted.  However, more often than not, that’s exactly what happens.  Meth’s addictive qualities are so strong that even those without any predisposition to addictive behavior find themselves becoming hooked simply to avoid the horrible comedown.  I have to recommend that you stay away from meth, lest you find yourself becoming one of these addicts.

Ecstasy- Because ecstasy is very closely related to meth, it’s effects, both good and bad, are very similar.  And like meth, ecstasy is extremely addicting and more often than not, users find themselves with a serious drug problem after using ecstasy to prepare for a show.

As the look in bodybuilding becomes more and more extreme, the pharmaceutical strategies to achieve that look also become more and more extreme.  Unfortunately, competitive bodybuilding, with the exception of natural shows, is probably one of the most unhealthy endeavors in athletics.  It may sound a bit hypocritical to recommend the use of massive amounts of steroids and other bodybuilding drugs in one breath and condemn the use of recreational drugs in the next, neither avenue will lead to increased longevity and can cause a host of health problems.  However, I don’t know too many bodybuilders who are prostituting themselves….wait a minute, bad example.  I don’t know too many bodybuilders who steal from everyone they know in order to support their use of steroids.  At least steroids do not have the same addictive properties as recreational drugs, and ultimately the use of these drugs will cause much more harm than good.  Just ask Chris Cormier. 

WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH THIS NEW SUPPLEMENT?

Question: I’ve been reading on that other website about a new supplement they are introducing, one that they claim “stops protein breakdown cold, and stimulates protein synthesis to its limits.”  If this is true, it sounds like an amazing new supplement.  What are your thoughts on this project?

Answer:  It does sound like an amazing new supplement, doesn’t it?  And Tim Patterson’s descriptions of its effects would certainly make one think that they’ve released yet another muscle-builder without equal.  I mean, let’s just look at how he felt after taking this new miracle supplement.

“The first sign of the experiment's success is when I entered what I've termed the "pre-blackout" stage. That's when your vision begins to dim and you feel like you're a character in an Oliver Stone movie who's reading Hunter S Thompson after taking a big dose of GHB. I'm talking really messed up, here. But even with all this going on, I was alert and actually energized.

Then, what happened next is so cool that a description can't do it justice. It's like trying to describe sex to someone who's never done the wild thing. They can fantasize all they want, even turn sofa-cushion humping into an art-form, but they can never truly know what it's like 'til they get their cherry popped.

Anyway, at the next step, my entire torso heated up to the point that sweat beaded up and rolled off like I'd been running 40-yard dashes uphill on a 90-degree day in 100-percent humidity — all this in a matter of seconds, too.”.

Sounds pretty damn amazing, right?  I mean, this must be some pretty powerful stuff if it can make you feel like that!  However, if you read further on in Tim’s article, you realize that what they’re talking about here is a post-workout drink that contains the following: whey protein, carbs, branched chain amino acids, and glutamine.  Of course, we realize this because Tim tells us, it’s not like he’s keeping it a secret.  So why am I busting the poor guys balls?

Like most of you, I’ve consumed a post-workout drink that’s very similar to what Tim discusses in his article.  And like most of you, I never felt any one the effects that Tim describes in his article.  I gotta be honest with you.  When I first read Tim’s article, I thought it was a joke.  I thought Tim was actually trying to be funny by writing a parody of themselves.  I actually thought it was kinda funny and laughed.  That ended when I saw that the article had been reprinted a second time and I realized these guys were actually serious.  They were actually marketing a post-workout drink that contained nothing more than protein, carbs, and amino acids and saying it produced intense, drug-like effects!!!  I can only imagine the claims Tim would make about the new Biotest bottled water!! 

“I felt completely drained after my workout.  However, after one sip of our new BBW-69 (Biotest Bottled Water, and 69 from TC and I’s favorite sexual position with each other), I felt amazingly refreshed.  Suddenly my pores dried up and I stopped sweating.  A few minutes before, I felt like dropping to the floor.  Now, I felt as if I could run a marathon or complete a triathlon!

Our new BBW-69 contains nothing but H20.  However, it’s our special formula of H20 that makes all the difference.  Make sure you try this new supplement which we’ll be releasing shortly!”

So why does this piss me off?  Because the average nitwit reads this article and assumes there is something special about Biotest’s formulation because they don’t feel the same way from using protein and carbs after working out.  And why not?  Tim states clearly in his article that Biotest has a superior formulation.  Read on..

“But how do you know if you get the formula right? It'll be as obvious as a smack in the face. You'll feel a little lightheaded and physically hot in your chest, back, and arms. If that happens, know that you've hit gold, and that you've switched the body from a catabolic state into a supercharged state of pure anabolic horsepower. Then step back and watch yourself grow… Big time!”

Well guess what folks?  I don’t care how much you fuck around with the formulation of this product, you ain’t gonna feel like Tim does.  And not because this new Biotest supplement contains any magical ingredients, but because everyone at Biotest is full of shit!! 

So here’s my advice to all of you.  It’s a great idea to consume a supplement similar to the one Tim describes in his article.  However, rather than paying whatever bullshit over-inflated charge that Biotest manages to come up with for whey, BCAA’s, and carbs, contact the Protein Factory and have them manufacture this supplement for you.  Simply ask for the following…

65% maltodextrin
5% BCAA’s
5% Glutamine peptides
25% hydro 360 – BTW, this is a superior form of whey, and we’ll explain why in next week’s issue

This above formulation will cost $7.66/lb, and will be superior to Biotest’s product.  So, if Biotest manages to sell their shit for less than $7.66/lb (YEAH RIGHT!), buy it from them.  If not, you can reach the Protein Factory by calling 1-800-343-1803 (ask for Alex) or log on to www.proteinfactory.com.  Everyone should be using a supplement like this, over time it will make a tremendous difference in your gains!!

Submit your questions to Jason Meuller via his email address, Jason@anabolicextreme.com. 

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