 Visning av honnrposter for PeGo
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Kosthold / Kosttilskudd / Sv: Oversikt over gode tilbud på kosttilskudd?
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16. oktober 2012, 16:49
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Proteintilskudd, kreatin, glutamin og ZMA som inneholder Zink og Magnesium, fra Nordic Nutrition. Fra 319 kr, inklusive frakt (Verdi opptil 897 kr) Kjøp så mange du vil!
Metapure Proteintilskudd 2x1 kg. Velg mellom 5 fantastiske smaker
Rent Whey ISOLAT Protein
Laktosefritt
Søtet med Sukralose
Maksimum proteininnhold
Perfekt for deg som er på lavkarbo og/eller ønsker og bygge muskler
Meget populært blant jenter og gutter som vil komme i form
Tilbys i Chocolate, Strawberry/Banana, Rasberry, Vanilla og Chocolate Coconut
Forslag til dosering følger med I pakken. Vanlig dosering er 30 gram 1 gang daglig helst direkte etter hard styrketrening.
Pakken rekker i ca 60 dager under hard trening.
Krea-bolic/XtraVol/Anabolic ZMA treningspakke med kosttilskudd
Her får du alt du trenger for å maksimere dine treningsresultater
270 kapsler Krea-Bolic for økt styrke og utholdenhet
90 kapsler Anabolic ZMA for økt innhenting og bedre søvn. Kan også økte testosteron nivåer naturlig.
480 gram XtraVol Blue Rasberry. Aminosyreblanding som drikkes før/under trening for utholdenhet og rask oppbygging av muskelfibre.
Forslag til dosering følger med i pakken. Pakken rekker i ca 60 dager under hard trening.
http://www.groupon.no/deals/online-store/Nordic-Nutrition/11703204?nlp=&CID=NO_CRM_1_0_0_290&a=1666
De forsetter enda en dag, dvs 17.10.12 kl 23:59 |
| Honnr gitt av : PhilLynott, 17. oktober 2012, 11:43
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Generelt / Diskutèr artikler / Sv: Sex (i) trening
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03. april 2011, 23:29
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Dette er jo på ingen måte en seriøs artikkel. Et humorinnslag. Ta det for det det er 
Likevel, skal en le så kan en ta seg en tur innom Vg.no eller noe sånt. Sandvik er en klovn! |
| Honnr gitt av : Eirik Sandvik, 07. april 2011, 00:44
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4
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Generelt / Loggbok Online / Sv: Apaco trener for å beholde tittelen som gjengleder!
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24. oktober 2010, 11:38
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Dette var litt trist lesning. Dagens pakistaner mistet akkurat litt av sin glans. Blir ikke helt det samme når man finner ut at skribenten er en idiot, liksom. Litt som med overbetalte fotballspillere. Produktet de serverer er bra, mennesket som står bak produktet er som regel ikke like bra...
Dette er en form for overlevelses mekanisme som må til, hvis du er fra disse kanter av byen. |
| Honnr gitt av : Apaco, 24. oktober 2010, 12:57
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Kosthold / Kosttilskudd / Sv: Innhandling av kosttilskudd. Hjeeelp.
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30. mai 2010, 23:13
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Ikke for å virke dum her nå, men er det en fysisk butikk i strømstad? Har aldri sett den, virkelig moro hvis det er så enkelt å få tak i rage:)
Her er adressen og ja det er en fysisk butikk:
STRÖMSTAD
Karlsgatan 14
451 31 STRÖMSTAD
Tel. 0526-615 05
Vardagar 11.00 - 18.00
Lördagar 11-15
Du kan søke på dem også på facebook. |
| Honnr gitt av : Batistuta, 30. mai 2010, 23:21
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Kosthold / Kosttilskudd / Sv: Lage eget kostilskudd
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18. juni 2009, 15:41
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Her har info om hvordan du kan lage eget kosttilskudd.
Jeg har dette som pdf-fil, som er mer oversiktlig, så hvis det er noen som vil ha det si i fra.
Table Of Contents
Introduction .......………………………………………………….....…2
Who Is The “Muscle Nerd”?......................................... 6
Chapter 1: Supplement “Suckers” 101.......................9
Chapter 2: Supplements – Are They Worth It?........12
Chapter 3: “Back Room” Supplements……………………23
Chapter 4: Marketing Secrets Exposed ....................31
Chapter 5: The Good, The Bad, And The UGLY ………48
Chapter 6: The Home-Based Supplement Lab .........59
Chapter 7: “Knocking Off” The Top Supplements ....68
“Energy/Pre-Workout Aids”..............................76
“Mass Gainers” ..................................................90
“Muscle Builders” ............................................106
“Fat Burners” ...................................................117
“Sports Performance” .....................................132
“Post-Workout Recover”.................................146
“Nitric Oxide” ..................................................159
“Hormone-Boosters” .......................................176
1
Legal Stuff To Cover My @$$...
The information presented is not intended for the treatment or prevention of
disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to
medical advice.
This publication is presented for information purposes only. CQC International,
LLC, nor any of the subsidiary websites, publications, or any media resources,
nor any other website providing information, either known or unknown produced
or recommended by CQC International, LLC or its subsidiaries, assume any
liability for the information contained herein.
The Information contained herein reflects only the opinion of the author and is in
no way to be considered required practice. Specific medical advice should be
obtained from a licensed legal health practitioner. Consult your physician before
you begin any diet, exercise, or training program.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug
Administration. The information contained herein is not intended to diagnose,
treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
The contents of this publication are fully protected by international copyright law.
Any other posting or distribution without written consent from the author will be a
violation of copyright law and violators will be prosecuted to the full extent.
2
Introduction
There I stood, staring frustrated in front of my bathroom mirror, once again trying
to flex my scrawny toothpick of an arm in hopes of seeing SOME signs of
progress for all of my hard work at the gym. My hopes dashed once again, I left
the house for my monthly trek to the local grocery store and bought the
bodybuilding magazine that had the largest “mutant” pro bodybuilder I could find
on the front cover.
Running home into my bedroom as excited as a 13-year-old boy who just found
his mom’s Victoria’s Secret catalog in the mailbox, I thumbed through it,
desperately searching for something (hell ANYTHING!) that would give me some
clue as to what I was doing wrong with my weight training. I breezed past every
single article giving me the same old advice…“eat this much protein”…“do this
bench press for this many reps”…yeah, yeah, yeah…blah, blah, blah…bought
that supplement…didn’t work…bought that one…didn’t work…didn’t buy that
one…” You get the picture.
And then I saw it!
It was a small ad in the back of the classified section that read:
Tired of trying to flex toothpick arms
in front of your bathroom mirror?
We have the natural anabolic
compounds that will finally help you
achieve massive amounts of muscle
with no side effects.
Legal Steroids!
Call now ### - ### - ####
It was as if the ad were speaking directly to ME! And here was the best
part…the number to call was actually located in MY home town!
I immediately picked up the phone and dialed. I spoke to a guy who answered
the phone. He seemed cool enough…so I stuttered with excitement as I told him
about my frustration with not being able to build as much muscle as I wanted to.
3
I told him that I saw his ad and, ironically, I noticed that I lived in the same city as
him, and I asked him where his company was located.
I couldn’t believe it when he told me. He was only 3 BLOCKS AWAY!
When I told him I was right around the corner, he was as surprised as I
was…and then he asked me to “come on over” and he would “hook me up” with
some serious supplements that would finally do the trick!
I jumped in my car and drove straight to the address he gave me. Expecting to
arrive at a small manufacturing building or business park, I was more than a little
shocked when I pulled up to a SINGLE STORY HOUSE in my residential
neighborhood. I sat there scratching my head, trying to determine if I had heard
him correctly or maybe I jotted down the wrong number in my haste to take him
up on his personal invitation before it was retracted.
Confused, I walked up and rang the doorbell and was soon greeted by a ripped
giant, still in his workout clothes, and wearing a telephone headset on his head.
He motioned to me to come in as he was talking with (undoubtedly) another
frustrated hardgainer on the other end of the line desperately searching for the
same solution I was. I listened intently as I walked into the living room of the
“supplement company” and took a seat on the couch he motioned me over to.
I listened intently as he “made the sale” to the other guy on the line and jotted
down his order and credit card number.
“The total will be $113.56. Will that be MasterCard or Visa?”
Wow, I thought. I hope I’m able to walk out of here holding on to more of last
week’s paycheck that THAT guy!
When he finished his sale and had hung up, he extended a cheerful hand and
greeted me with a big smile and said, “C’mon Jeff…follow me!”
I walked behind him to a small room connected to the living room and found a
large table on which there were small bins, some cardboard boxes with pictures
of cows on it, some funnels, and a strange metal machine.
“Welcome to my ‘production facility’!” he said.
“This is it?” I replied in shock.
“Yep…that’s all it takes!” he said, beaming proudly over his work.
4
He then proceeded to take me on the “Grand Tour” of the inside of his own
sports supplement manufacturing, marketing and distribution center…all located
within the 100 square foot room we stood in!
He explained that he was a competitive bodybuilder (no one famous), and that
there was a LOT of money to be made in marketing supplements to the hungry
masses since he could charge as much as he wanted to regardless of what was
actually in the bottles he was shipping out.
I think he could see the hesitation in my eyes because he quickly added, “don’t
worry…I have the good stuff over here. I told you I’d hook you up, didn’t I?”
In the end, I left with a $57 bottle of pills (encapsulated with that strange metal
machine on the table from bulk ingredients, no doubt intended for horses or cows
or something), and you know what? I made gains!
And…I had made a friend that would go on to teach me the most valuable in
secrets of supplementation unknown to the masses that were frothing at the
mouth to buy the next latest and greatest mass building, ab revealing,
testosterone boosting compounds as fast as these “companies” could get the
package in the mail!
In fact, in the weeks and months that followed, I continued to go over to my new
“friend’s” house to broaden my knowledge of the “secrets” of supplementation…
I watched him go from his “mass building” phase right up into his pre-contest
“dieting” phase, all the while, popping pill after pill that would bring him closer and
closer to the body that would draw stares of awe on stage.
And all of these supplements were created just 20 feet away in a makeshift
production facility!
I learned what worked…what didn’t…how to make the supplements…how he
tested the supplements…how he MARKETED the supplements…
And you know what?
It made me sick!
No, not PHYSICALLY sick…but ETHICALLY sick! And quite frankly…
MORALLY OUTRAGED!
Sure, I learned about HOW to supplement correctly as well as how to make my
OWN powerful compounds using raw ingredients that were readily available
5
either online, at my local health food store, or in many cases…at the local
GROCERY!
But even MORE importantly, I left with my eyes wide open to the world BEHIND
the forbidden curtain of secrecy that cleverly guards the tactics and marketing
strategies used by supplement companies, both LARGE and SMALL, to pry
open the wallets of well-intentioned, frustrated fitness enthusiasts intent on
building muscle, burning fat, increasing their sex drive, or optimizing their sports
performance.
In fact, my “education” in the secrets within the supplement industry has carried
on since that eye-opening day some 11 years ago…and led me to research how
to tell the “good” companies from the “bad”…the “real” supplements from the
“scams”…and most importantly, how to make winning compounds of my own that
rival those of even the largest supplement manufacturers, saving me
THOUSANDS of dollars in the process.
And now it’s finally time to bring all of my discoveries, tips, tricks, tactics, and
yes, personal recipes, to YOU and help you build your own powerful home-based
“supplement manufacturing facility” focused on crafting your own “perfect body.”
But first, a little bit about me…
6
Who Is The “Muscle Nerd”?
Short of bringing my “pocket-protector” to the gym,
the nickname given to by my sadistically cruel gym
buddies is actually probably well deserved.
Best known for my natural bodybuilding program
phenomenon “Optimum Anabolics”
(www.optimum-anabolics.com), I was the geeky
guy at the gym who would always be seen sitting
on the weight bench, hunched over my handy little
notepad, scribbling down every last detail of my
workout and results to be able to scientifically
analyze what WORKS…and what was a complete
waste of time when it came to building muscle while burning fat.
Laugh if you must…but it was these notes that lead to
one of the most remarkable discoveries in natural
bodybuilding and my ultimate step-by-step roadmap to
amazing muscle growth that I detailed in Optimum
Anabolics and soon became the program of choice for
everyone from skinny teenagers to overweight “50-
somethings” looking to FINALLY achieving the body of
their dreams.
And now, even some pro bodybuilders are using the
“natural hormone triggering” process I discovered as
an alternative to steroids in their own program…and it
works!
But enough of the egotistical pat on my own back ;-)…
Let’s get into the MEAT of why you purchased this
program to begin with, shall we?
So let me start off by saying that although it may seem like the purpose of this
program is to expose the tips, tricks and tactics used by the supplement
companies to pawn off sometimes outright FRAUDULENT, tubs of worthless
goo…I am NOT an “enemy” of sports supplements.
In fact…I’m a HUGE fan of supplements!
7
I use a host of natural bodybuilding supplements in my own training, and over the
years I’ve discovered which ones work for me, and which one’s don’t work for
me. Like I said…my nickname the “Muscle Nerd,” is well-deserved.
I’ve spent hundreds, if not THOUSANDS, of hours recording my own test results,
training patterns and every other aspect of my training program, as well as
staying current on the very latest research, breakthroughs and blunders within
the supplement industry.
I’ve developed relationships over the years with manufacturers, marketers,
suppliers, distribution centers, professional bodybuilders, and yes, even a few
supplement companies.
So what I’m about to share with you will open up your eyes to what REALLY
happens behind the curtain of secrecy. And believe me…I’m taking a BIG risk
and jeopardizing some pretty strong relationships with friends of mine just in
writing this manifesto.
But the truth must be told…and tell it I will!
And as your guide and teacher through this behind-the-scenes expose, you’ll see
me pop my head in from time to time just to add a few extra little opinions…
A Word From The “Muscle Nerd”…
“See? This is my happy little face!
After completing this book, I read it back through from the
beginning and found several points that I felt needed…well, a little
‘extra emphasis.’ (OK, I also like to hear myself talk!)
So from time to time throughout this book, I’ll jump in just to add
my ‘two cents’. Just think of me as your PERSONAL GUIDE to
finally learning the secrets to saving a TON of money by becoming
your own personal ‘supplement manufacturer’!
And to get you started, I have my first little “homework assignment”
for you! But first…one obligatory shameless plug...”
8
"... you should just hear the
compliments friends, family,
and now even WOMEN are
saying about my
'NEW BODY'!"
Hello Jeff...this is Daniel!
I really want to thank you for your awesome
program, your expert advice...and most of all these
amazing results!
You should just hear the compliments friends,
family, and even WOMEN are now saying about my
"new body"!
Thanks to your program I have really opened my
eyes to what works and what doesn't. By focusing
on your "8 Anabolic Factors", my training is now
more productive in less time! Your program is
simple to follow and delivers powerful information.
Optimum Anabolics ROCKS!!!
For everyone hesitating about getting this program,
it should be a no brainer. If you're willing to put in
the effort, the OA program will PUMP UP YOUR
MUSCLES!"
Happy Muscle Building ,
~ Dan ~
Discover The Program That Transformed
Dan From An “Average Guy”...
...Into The ENVY Of All His Friends!
www.Optimum-Anabolics.com
9
Chapter 1
Supplement “Suckers” 101
Ok, here’s your first homework assignment…
Head on over to your local book store and pull down any major bodybuilding
magazine from the shelves and begin flipping through the pages.
What do you see?
Well, if the one you chose is anything like the random muscle mag I yanked
down, then here’s what you found (this is a REAL life actual example)…
• The Table of Contents didn’t even show up until page 35…AFTER 34
straight pages of supplement ads,
• 14 Features and Reports related to, yep…you guessed it—SPORTS
SUPPLEMENTS…
• …and 175 TOTAL PAGES of SUPPLEMENT ADS nestled snuggly in
between mountainous, ripped bodybuilders!
In fact, throughout most muscle magazines you’ll find images of massive, lean,
great looking pro- and wanna-be-pro-bodybuilders gracing the pages, holding up
the very latest “breakthrough” natural supplement that helped them build the
physique you’re now slobbering over.
What’s the message here?
The message is that if you want to look like the men and women you see before
you, the “secret” lies in “better living through pharmaceutical enhancement,”
otherwise known as sports supplementation.
Forget the fact that the “perfect specimens” that grace the pages of every muscle
rag have so many anabolic steroids pumping through their veins that their blood
is more toxic than a Chernobyl fishing hole, and that their perfect bodies had
practically NOTHING to do with the supplement they may (or may NOT) have
taken in the process. This is often overlooked anyway.
Yes, it’s no secret…supplements sell…and they sell VERY well!
And is it any wonder?
10
Frustrated gym rats everywhere are struggling to gain just an ounce of lean
muscle. Men and women are huffing and puffing like rabbits on Viagra on
treadmills throughout the world’s health facilities in an attempt to chisel down
those sagging bellies and hips that have slowly crept up on them one Big Mac at
a time.
We live in a society hell-bent on INSTANT GRATIFICATION!
We want 18-inch pythons NOW!
We want to crack a walnut on our washboard abs YESTERDAY!
And supplement ads convince us that all of these achievements are possible.
They give us HOPE that we can become someone other than who we are
now…more like the buff, hairless guys and scantily clad women that were
obviously able to become bigger, stronger, leaner, better looking, and more
popular using the supplement they’re proudly holding up with a big smile and a
dark tan.
I mean, what would YOU rather do…
Bust your ass 5 days a week going to the gym in a seemingly futile attempt to
change your body composition?
Or pop a magic pill that promises you will gain “20 lbs of massive muscle in the
next 6 weeks”?
Yeah…ME TOO!
Ad headlines like that are enough to send bodybuilders running to their nearest
GNC to stock up on whatever supplement is being touted as the very latest
cutting edge compound…and the supplement manufacturers are laughing all the
way to the bank, their pockets stuffed with the hard-earned cash from wellintentioned
gym buffs like us.
But that’s NOT to say that the pocket-picking profit margins aren’t NECESSARY
for many of these companies…
Last I checked, a full page ad (the most popular supplement ad size) in a popular
fitness magazine costs up to $10,620 per PAGE!
And some of these companies are advertising over SEVERAL pages!
In fact, in my sample magazine from earlier, ONE company took up 37 PAGES
of ads alone…including the VERY costly BACK COVER!
11
Now, even with a hefty “bulk advertising” discount, that’s STILL got to be close to
a QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS for advertising in just ONE MAGAZINE!
And this same manufacturer advertises in ALL of the fitness magazines.
It’s this kind of “shock and awe” exposure that has made them the number one
supplement company in the business and is the reason why just a small bottle of
their pills can cost you almost $100 to get the “privelage” to buy in hopes that it
will make you look like the steroid-injecting pro they’ve used to promote their
products in their ads!
A Word From The “Muscle Nerd”…
“Look, I know everyone has to make a dollar. But in the world of
‘Supplement Companies Gone Wild’, it’s just not right that innocent
men and women are silently being scammed out of their hardearned
money…sometimes by small fly-by-night manufacturers
and marketers…and most of the time even by some of the biggest
names in the sports supplement world.
But now it’s time to set the record straight!
Yes, I’ll make a “Muscle Nerd” out of you yet.”
The goal of this manual is to help you implement a supplement plan that will
support your goals, help you make an educated decision on what will work for
YOU and save you hundreds, if not THOUSANDS of dollars by showing you how
to build your own home-based mini-lab and pump out high quality sports and diet
supplements that are as good or even BETTER than expensive name brand
products.
So let’s get started, shall we?
And the best place to start is always at the beginning so let’s first take a look at
whether or not supplements are really WORTH you spending half your paycheck
on…
12
Chapter 2
Sports Supplements…Are They Worth It?!
Now it may seem that I’m a bit too critical of sports supplements and the
companies that produce them. But please, don’t get me wrong. Not all
supplement companies are thieves, and not all use the same sort of back-alley
advertising gimmicks I’m about to expose you to.
I’m not saying that many of these supplements that are being produced and
marketed DON’T work as they’re promised. MANY of them actually DO!
However, while it’s unfortunate, there are a few (well, ok…MORE than a few!)
scam artists that have trashed the good name of an entire industry because of
their underhanded production and marketing strategies. In truth, many
supplements DO work, and work VERY WELL if implemented INTELLIGENTLY
and with an OBJECTIVE approach (bordering on “scientific”).
You see, fueled by the competitive nature of professional sports and Olympic
excellence for national pride, private agencies, wealthy universities and even
government agencies across the globe have spent billions upon billions of dollars
researching human bio-chemistry in search of scientific breakthroughs in
prolonging life, manipulating genetics and hormones, and yes…crafting the
perfect man/woman/athlete/soldier, etc.
The result has indeed been several “revolutionary breakthroughs” in natural
supplementation (and some “not-so-natural”) that can in fact have a dramatic
effect on how you can gain muscle, burn fat, slow the aging process, increase
sex drive, become stronger, and so on.
13
A Word From The “Muscle Nerd”…
“Yes, the truth is, we’ve succeeded! The pages of any muscle mag
will show proof positive that we’re now able to completely wipe out
any genetic limitations on the ability to grow massive amounts of
muscle through the use of anabolic steroids.
But the question posed WASN’T “do supplements work?”…it was
“ARE THEY WORTH IT?”
And the answer to that question is much more elusive!
Let’s begin with a history lesson…”
Consider this…
“Bodybuilding” training methods can be traced as far back as the 8th Century
when the Greeks and Romans had already begun to realize the importance and
beauty of having a well-sculpted and muscular physique.
In fact, the Spartans actually forced their males to enter athletic school at the age
of seven to begin bulking up!
Self-discipline and optimal health were highly praised in their society. But did
they have sports supplements during these times in which to help them get
ripped? Absolutely not! Unfortunately, bodybuilders have overlooked the history
of their sport.
This tradition of what is often referred to as
“natural bodybuilding” was still prevalent in the
19th Century thanks to Eugen Sandow who
was a pioneering bodybuilder of the Victorian
era.
The bodybuilding successes of the Greeks and
Romans were not lost on Sandow. As a boy
he admired both cultures’ statues and mythical
heroes. At the age of nineteen he literally had
the body of a Greek god, and all WITHOUT the
help of supplements.
Sandow was so strict about his lifting and diet
regimen that he actually measured Greek and
Eugen Sandow
“The Father Of Modern Bodybuilding”
14
Roman marble artwork, and developed his physique to meet those exact
proportions. This accomplishment led to him being credited as the “Father of
Modern Bodybuilding” because he was the first bodybuilder to ever develop his
muscles to a pre-determined size.
Sandow had many great achievements during the course of his life, all of them
done without the help of supplements. Sandow authored books about
bodybuilding and he established the first health clubs, which in turn, made
exercise trendy among all people.
Now the lesson is this…if Sandow could do this WITHOUT access to the internet
and the local GNC more than a hundred years ago, then what has changed to
make it more difficult for bodybuilders today to do the same?
The answer…NOTHING at all!
The bottom line is that a proper diet and exercise program is the foundation of
any effective bodybuilding plan! Without it, not a single supplement in the world
will do you a damn bit of good. But again…training and following a strict diet will
ONLY take you so far and then you ARE faced with “genetic limitations.”
This is NO NEW NEWS to scrawny “hardgainers” everywhere who have been
trying for what seems like FOREVER to pack on just a scrap of muscle to their
pencil-thin frames…or even to the “chubby” person who was always told that
he/she was simply “big boned” all her life.
Chances are that BOTH of these types of people (and EVERYONE in between!)
have tried to change their body’s genetics through a diet and/or exercise program
at one point or another…perhaps SEVERAL times!
But it’s ALSO likely that they’ve QUIT their program once their personal
metabolism or “genetic limitations” took over and they saw their progress come to
a screeching halt.
You see, for those individuals who do make gains with a healthy program of diet
and exercise and then experience plateaus, supplementation CAN come in quite
handy overcoming this hurdle in order to kick-start new growth or fat loss.
But the problem is that MOST men and women are completely unfamiliar with the
TRUE role supplements can play in their overall fitness program and they end up
missing the boat altogether.
So let’s look at the REAL STEPS you need to take to fully understand how
supplements can help you and increase your chances for success…
15
Below, you’ll find a diagram that illustrates your potential to make progress within
ANY bodybuilding, fitness, or fat burning program.
“Average” Progress Map
Time
The “Green Zone” (Optimal Progress) is that point where your body is at its
peak proficiency at achieving your desired results, such as your body is in an
anabolic (muscle-building) state or your are burning off the desired body fat.
The “Under-Training Zone” is the state that most non-exercising, “eat anything”
average people wander around in most of the time. Their body perceives no
“need” to change its composition at all and so no progress is made toward either
building muscle or burning off fat.
And finally there is the “Over-Training Zone”. This is the point at which your
body is either receiving TOO MUCH stress (i.e., the demands of your exercise
program have exceeded your body’s ability to recover effectively) or TOO LITTLE
“support” (i.e., not enough rest, your calories are too low or other diet
deficiencies)
At any one point in your fitness program you are in ONE of these three
zones…PERIOD!
“Over-Training” – No Progress
Optimal Progress Zone
“Under-Training” – No Progress
Training Intensity &
Reduced “Support”
16
Which one, depends upon how well you address the factors that correctly
balance your body’s demand for a change in body composition (more muscle
and less fat) with the level of support you provide it.
A Word From The “Muscle Nerd”…
“Now most people starting out in a fitness program are really only
hitting one or two of the essential elements that are required to
meet their blindly following only one or two tips they received from
either an article they read in a magazine, a friend, or even the local
self-appointed “expert” down at the gym.
This is why in my natural bodybuilding program Optimum
Anabolics, I focus in on the ‘8 Anabolic Factors’ that are
ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY if you EVER want to build muscle.
Miss any ONE of these critical components and you’ll continue to
be frustrated with your lack of gains.
You can actually pick up a sample copy of Optimum Anabolics by
going to my website at…www.Optimum-Anabolics.com”
Now it doesn’t matter if their goal is to build muscle, burn fat, or both, they usually
follow the same “progress” sequence as everyone else who is just starting a
program as is illustrated by the red dashed arrow in the diagram on the next
page...
17
“Average” Progress Map
Time
As we discussed earlier, nearly ANY program can bring you results when you
first start out. Your body, in its need to adapt to the “stress” you unleash on it
(through exercise or “diet”), will in turn improve in some capacity either building
more muscle to handle the extra workload, or burning away some body fat in
response to reduced calorie intake (sometimes both).
This is illustrated in the above diagram as you can see this “average” person
following a fitness program go from being “Under-Trained” and then, as they
force their body to “pick up the slack”, enter the “Optimum Progress Zone” and
start to see an increase in muscle and/or a decrease in fat.
But what inevitably happens is that their body, as it has been programmed to do
since the dawn of time, begins to become more “efficient” at dealing with your
program and/or your diet program.
At this point, many people fall under the spell of the experts’ “no pain, no gain”
mentality and decide to push through their plateau by working even HARDER. In
some cases this may be work, but in most, the reason for the “plateau” is either
OVERTRAINING or lack of “SUPPORT”, meaning either their exercise program
is already too intense, or they are not providing the right structural support factors
(such as calories are reduced TOO much and improper rest) to help their body
recover effectively and continue progress.
“Over-Training” – No Progress
Optimal Progress Zone
“Under-Training” – No Progress
Training Intensity &
Reduced “Support”
18
However, most people are fumbling blindly through the quicksand of information
available on how to properly structure their program and end up quitting or taking
some temporary time off.
And miraculously, their body begins to respond again!
You see, once your body has a chance to “catch up” with the demands (in this
case due to reduced intensity or increased “support”, then it will “rebound” for a
while, once again bringing progress until it reaches the “equilibrium point” again
where it doesn’t really need to work hard at it any more. In other words, you’re
back in the UNDER-Training Zone and have to either increase the intensity again
or provide your body with more “support”.
And so this vicious circle continues! Each time your body either becomes over
“stressed” or Under-stressed, you basically zig-zag in and out of the Optimal
Progress Zone, ending up gaining and losing, gaining and losing essentially
spending as much time (or even MORE time) OUTSIDE of the zone that will
continue to bring you consistent results.
But if you were paying attention, we’ve already covered some of the ways that
you can avoid this frustrating time waster…
“Proper Diet” Progress Map
Time
By far, ensuring that you’re following a PROPER DIET that is structured to
provide you with the right number of calories and ratios of PROTEIN,
“Over-Training” – No Progress
Proper Diet
Optimal Progress Zone
Proper Diet
“Under-Training” – No Progress
Training Intensity &
“Support”
19
CARBOHYDRATES, and FAT would be the NUMBER ONE area to address to
make sure that you’re on track.
This subject is MUCH too intensive to go into here and is covered extensively in
my other programs so there’s no real need to address it here…but suffice it to
say that with most of my clients, when they find that they’re not meeting their
goals, a few tweaks of how they have their diet set up usually brings them back
on track and making progress again.
So, looking at the diagram at the top of the page, you can see that even if
NOTHING is done to the exercise program itself, just making sure that your diet
is in line with your goals AND you’re following it like you’re supposed to, greatly
increases your “Optimal Training Zone” allowing you more “buffer” before you
stop seeing progress, either through “Over-Training” or “Under-Training”.
Now, let’s take a look at how addressing your exercise program can help…
20
“Proper Exercise” Progress Map
Time
Here we start to see a different pattern.
As is illustrated above, a proper exercise program should have shorter “cycles” of
intensity that actually USE your body’s natural adaptive process to consistently
make gains without those nagging training plateaus.
A Word From The “Muscle Nerd”…
“I cover this in great detail in Factor 1 of the 8 Anabolic Factors
covered within my 18 week natural bodybuilding program,
Optimum Anabolics.
‘Intensity Cycling’ is one of the very BEST ways to ensure
continuous muscle growth without those nagging plateaus.
The problem is, MOST guys are getting it completely WRONG and
end up pushing themselves further and further into the ‘no
progress’ zones as they fumble their way through the guesswork.
Since when did ‘guessing’ become a bodybuilding strategy?!
Optimum Anabolics takes you step-by-step through the whole
process!”
“Over-Training” – No Progress
Proper Exercise
Proper Diet
Optimal Progress Zone
Proper Diet
Proper Exercise
“Under-Training” – No Progress
Training Intensity &
“Support”
21
The other thing you’ll notice from the diagram is that cycling your exercise
intensity not only makes sure that you’re not over-training or under-training in the
gym, but it also allows your body’s support systems to maximize efficiency,
pushing that buffer zone of the “Optimal Progress Zone” even wider, bringing you
even MORE consistent gains!
But we’re not done yet…
“Proper Supplementation” Progress Map
Time
As I said before, I’m a BIG fan of supplementation…when it’s done RIGHT…and
this brings us to the TRUE ROLE supplements can play in any fitness program…
You see, without a proper diet and exercise program, supplements will be VERY
limited in what they will do for you. But this is typically IGNORED by most men
and women who are gobbling up pills by the handful thinking that supplements
are the magic carpet ride to the body of their dreams.
In fact, I stopped counting the number of people who contacted me before
starting one of my programs and said, “I’ve tried every supplement out there and
the only option I see left is to start taking STEROIDS!”.
Nonsense!
I’ll be the first one to admit that living a healthy lifestyle is not always easy and
getting to the point where you’re “ripped and shredded” is a HUNDRED time
harder! It takes a LOT of time, hard work, and dedication to reach your goals.
“Over-Training” – No Progress
Proper Supplementation
Proper Exercise
Proper Diet
Optimal Progress Zone
Proper Diet
Proper Exercise
Proper Supplementation
“Under-Training” – No Progress
Training Intensity &
“Support”
22
But consistent gains in both muscle-building and fat-burning are not only
possible…but practically GUARANTEED with the right program structure and
motivation to succeed.
But even then, you’re going to be challenged at some point as you start
stretching your “genetic limitations”…and THAT is where supplementation can
come in quite handy!
With the proper supplement plan you can actually push that “Optimal Progress
Zone” wider and wider as you learn just how to tweak your body’s ability to…
• Provide you with MORE ENERGY for the gym
• RECOVER FASTER and stronger from every workout
• Support optimum cell function that creates the ultimate musclebuilding/
fat-burning environment
• Stimulates NATURAL hormone enhancement to increase growth (and
even sexual libido!)
• And several other benefits!
But it still all comes back to the necessity of structuring a supplement plan that
will filter out all of the marketing glitz and glamour designed to lure you into
spending your hard-earned dough on a bucket of powder that is full of
promises…and low on results!
But don’t worry…I’m about to pull back the curtain and provide you with the
elusive (and sometimes FRAUDULENT) tactics the supplement manufacturers
and advertisers were hoping you would NEVER get hold of!
In fact, the entire supplement producing industry is completely FILLED with
loopholes and opportunities that make marketing worthless goo a pretty easy
trick.
And in order to understand just how they’re able to manipulate the system
(yes…LEGALLY!), you must first understand the playing field on which they
operate, so let’s take a look at how a supplement becomes a supplement…
Let’s take a look at just how a supplement is “born” and how simple it is to
manipulate the system and produce the next “cutting edge scientific formula” for
consumers…
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Chapter 3
Even YOU Could Launch A Multi-Million Dollar
“Supplement Company” Out Of Your Living Room…
In Your UNDERWEAR!
A Word From The “Muscle Nerd”…
“Now regulations regarding sports supplements differ from country
to country so this may not reflect your own country’s standards and
practices, but here in the United States, it’s really not too difficult to
introduce a new “natural” product.”
As already mentioned, any Joe Shmoe with a fair amount of knowledge about the
human body and the ingredients that boost its performance and appearance can
sit down and in a matter of just a few clicks of a mouse button, develop a
“proprietary formula” for a supplement and sell it—even out of their own house!
And the federal government was aware of this over ten years ago when sales for
nutritional supplements began to skyrocket and became widely popular with the
American public. And we’re NOT just talking about athletes...more and more,
individual consumers looking to promote a healthier lifestyle or carve out a fitness
model physique were buying vitamins and wonder pills by the dump truck load!
So in their infinite wisdom, the government determined that, although many of
these supplements were dependable for consumers, some weren’t…and in 1994,
the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) was created.
The purpose of this law is to protect the American public from supplements that
could be potentially harmful to consumers. Now it’s important to know that it IS in
the best interests of supplement companies to study and be able to recite these
guidelines in their sleep because products that don’t meet these guidelines are
generally subject to the scrutiny of the Food and Drug Administration for
approval.
If there’s one element out of sync with the DSHEA, it can GREATLY delay the
arrival of a product to market…and that means an expensive wait on their
“Return Of Investment” for design, development, testing, and production costs.
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Here are the limited FDA rules that govern the creation of a new supplement
(sorry for the “lawyer speak”, but it’s THEIR words):
1. The supplement must contain one or more of the following ingredients: a
vitamin, mineral, herb or other botanical, an amino acid, a dietary
substance used to supplement the diet by increasing the total daily intake,
or a concentrate, metabolite, constituent, extract or combination of these
ingredients. (You’ll notice that this guideline doesn’t require that a
supplement consists of ALL of these ingredients—more on that later.)
2. The supplement can be ingested in the form of a pill, tablet or liquid. (The
exception here is if the supplement is meant to REPLACE a meal or diet.)
3. The supplement must be labeled a “dietary supplement” on its packaging.
As you may have already noticed, these guidelines leave a LOT of wiggle room
for interpretation and manipulation and there ARE loopholes that smart
supplement companies have learned to navigate in producing a product, as
worthless as it may be, and still get it streamlined through the approval process
in accordance with structured guidelines.
In addition to the guidelines mentioned above, supplement companies must also
meet certain PACKAGE LABELING REQUIREMENTS. Aspects that MUST be
visible on supplement packaging include:
• The term “dietary supplement” must be present
• The quantity of each ingredient must be listed, or if it is a combination
supplement, the quantity of all dietary ingredients in the blend must be
listed.
• Lastly, the label must also list the amount of calories, calories from fat,
total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, fiber, sugars,
protein, vitamins, and minerals in the supplement.
In addition to these regulations, the government also regulates the CLAIMS that
supplement companies make about their products (though not as often as they
should).
25
Supplement companies, under the law, are allowed to make 3 TYPES OF
CLAIMS:
• “Nutrient-Content Claims”
• “Health Claims”
• “Structure-Function Claims”
Let’s look at each one more closely…
“Nutrient-Content Claims”
Nutrient-content claims are those which are allowed when a supplement has a
HIGHER than usual amount of a certain nutrient; for example, “high in calcium,”
or “an excellent source of fiber”.
These claims are legal as long as the product actually HAS a high amount of the
nutrient or there is scientific demonstration that proves a supplement is indeed
“an excellent source of” whatever nutrient they are claiming is beneficial.
“Health Claims”
Claims that a supplement is beneficial for a specified health benefit can be made
as long as an authoritative scientific group (for example, the National Academy of
Sciences) has approved it. Currently the FDA allows claim in relation to 7
relationships:
You’re probably already familiar with several of them. These include…
• calcium and a reduced risk of osteoporosis (a condition of lowered bone
mass)
• sodium and an increased risk of hypertension (high blood pressure)
• dietary saturated fat and cholesterol and an increased risk of coronary
heart disease
• dietary fat and an increased risk of cancer
• fiber-containing grain products, fruits, and vegetables and a reduced risk
of cancer
• fruits, vegetables, and grain products that contain fiber, particularly soluble
fiber, and a reduced risk of coronary heart disease
• fruits and vegetables and a reduced risk of cancer.
26
“Structure-Function Claims”
Lastly, “structure-function” claims are those that describe the role of a nutrient or
dietary ingredient intended to affect the structure or function in humans such as
“Vitamin E to support a healthy heart,” or “fiber to maintain regularity.”
In order to make these representations though, there must be scientific data to
support the claim. However, as will be seen later, companies have found a
loophole for this law as well.
In addition, structure-function claims cannot claim to cure diseases. For
example, the company can’t say “will cure cancer.” This may sound like an
unnecessary provision to you, but consider this… the law wouldn’t exist if it
hadn’t been tried before…and consumers taken to the cleaners based upon the
false claims!
Ok, so now you’re probably thinking that if these laws exist to keep supplement
companies from scamming the public, then why does it still happen so frequently
today?
The answer is very simple…
The DSHEA is ONLY a law…and laws are only as good as the governing agency
that enforces them, right?
Well, in this case, the duty falls to the Federal Food and Drug Administration
(FDA).
The way in which the FDA regulates supplements, compared to other products
(i.e., prescription and over-the-counter drugs) differs greatly. And unfortunately,
the regulation of the supplement industry is NOT a high priority for the FDA as,
like most government agencies, they are overworked and understaffed!
Essentially, this means that supplement companies get to avoid the rigorous
scrutiny that most drugs go through BEFORE being allowed to reach the market.
In fact, in most cases the supplement companies don’t even have to REGISTER
their supplements with the FDA!
In MANY cases, these companies simply test there product just enough to make
sure it won’t have any detrimental “short-term health effects” on its users…but
RARELY is a supplement even tested to see if it is TRULY as effective as the
subsequent marketing ad will claim it is!
27
In fact, the actual production of the supplement itself often escapes enough
internal or external scrutiny to ensure that it even CONTAINS the actual
ingredients people are buying!
Consider this…
In 2001, the UCLA’s Sports Medicine Division conducted research on twelve
brands of retail, over-the-counter sports supplements containing the prohormone
androstenedione, claiming to have anabolic properties…in other words, their
purpose was to simulate steroid-like results to build muscle.
To us “in the know” within the industry, the results were of little surprise…
• ALL 12 PRODUCTS were mislabeled!
• One brand contained 10 mg of PURE TESOSTERONE (a controlled
steroid NOT meant for over-the-counter sale)!
• One brand contained 77% MORE andro than was stated on its label (a
VERY DANGEROUS misprint)!
• 11 out of the 12 contained LESS than the amount of active ingredients
listed on the label!
As you can now see, even the “trusted” information on most supplement labels
has the potential of not only being misleading…but completely FALSE!
So when WILL the FDA step in and get involved?
The only time the FDA will actually get involved in this industry is when a
supplement has proven to be dangerous to the health of users. Typically only
after someone has died or been seriously injured—after it is too late—will they
focus on a supplement and discover its dangerous nature or misrepresentation of
benefits or safety to the people who used it.
With so many supplements on the market and such an easy path to introduce
new products to the market, the FDA has tasked the supplement companies
themselves with providing information about the safety of their products.
In fact, companies are REQUIRED to report to the FDA if they receive feedback
from customers of potential adverse effects from intake of their supplements. As
you can probably guess, if you’re a supplement company who has spent
thousands to MILLIONS of dollars on marketing your supplements and are faced
with a complete recall and end to production of a supplement that is making you
28
oodles of money, you think twice about how much information you offer to the
Department that can shut down a big money-maker…IF you report it at all!
Probably the most widely known example of when “enough” became “enough” for
the FDA was the ban on the popular weight loss supplement “ephedra”
By the year 2000, the media was wild for stories about how fat we were
becoming as a society with new reports surfacing DAILY about our levels of
obesity and reliance on fast foods and unhealthy diets.
There is always money to be made in despair and suffering and the cry for help
from the overweight masses combined with our desire for “fast and easy results”
was all that was needed for the supplement companies to begin the marketing
campaigns…even before proper testing had been accomplished.
Ephedra was an herbal supplement (also known as Chinese Ma-Huang) that had
been used very successfully with competitive athletes when combined with
caffeine as this combination was VERY effective at stimulating fat loss while
increasing energy.
It didn’t take long for supplement industry to find a way to communicate these
same benefits to the panic-stricken public who were frothing at the mouth for
ANY solution at all that could finally blast off the love handles.
However, as both ephedra had caffeine were stimulants, the combination of the
two had the potential of creating a very potent adrenal cocktail if not used
correctly…and COULD pose a health risk.
As the use of supplements containing Ephedra spread, so did the increase in
deaths and health problems among consumers who were using the supplement.
In 2002, scientific studies reported that close to 1,000 people had either died or
suffered some kind of detrimental effect from using Ephedra. Specifically, close
to 50 people suffered from a stroke or other heart related problem, while more
than 10 had died a sudden and mysterious death. Still others were reporting
more minor side effects, such as abdominal pain, insomnia, dizziness,
depression, and mania, just to name a few.
In fact, one of the largest producers of diet supplements containing ephedra had
reported all the way up to 2002 that they had NEVER received ONE SINGLE
report from their customers that their product was unsafe.
When the FDA finally responded, it was found out that the company had actually
received OVER 13,000 REPORTS over a 5-year period of adverse reactions to
29
their products, including 40 seizures, 24 strokes, 20 heart attacks...and 3
DEATHS!
And we’re only talking about ONE COMPANY!
By 2003, the number of people who had been killed or sickened by Ephedra had
reached over 1,500. Keep in mind also, that these are only the cases that were
“documented” in the United States. The numbers are believed to be even larger
than that around the world.
The increase in the supplement’s use and in medical problems (and deaths!)
caught the eye of the mainstream media, and suddenly Ephedra supplements
were not as highly touted as they had been. This provided just the right political
conditions for the FDA to finally step in and bring down the hammer and, for a
federal agency, surprisingly quick too.
In response to accumulating evidence of adverse effects and deaths related to
ephedra, the FDA banned the sale of ANY supplements containing the now
black-listed supplement in April of 2004.
Now regardless of which side of the fence you stand on as to whether ephedra
actually poses a health risk or not, the point is that it took nearly 30 years for the
FDA to step in and ban it from the market despite initial consumer and medical
feedback that there was the slightest potential that the supplement may pose a
public health risk.
The lesson here is that when it comes to ensuring that the supplements you’re
looking to incorporate into your health, fitness, sport, or other training regimen
are safe, you CAN’T count on the government to be your watch dog!
The responsibility is YOURS and you MUST take a proactive role when deciding
on which supplements to take.
Yes, it’s true that SOME supplements may actually pose a health risk. But it’s
MUCH more common to find those that are simply scams and provide NO health
risks…and NO REAL BENEFITS either!
Now, that being said, there ARE supplements that do make good on the
promises and have benefited thousands of bodybuilders, athletes, weight-loss
enthusiasts, weigh-gain seekers, etc…you just need to know how to find them by
navigating the landmines that the sneakiest of supplement companies leave
behind in order to lure you into wasting your money!
And that’s where we’re headed next!
30
In fact, it’s time to take you into the back rooms of the supplement companies’
production and marketing “war rooms” and pull back the curtain to expose some
of the deceptive practices that I, and probably YOU, have fallen prey to in the
past.
The following chapter will look at the ways in which these companies exploit the
loopholes of the federal regulations, as well as the methods they employ to get
people to buy their products.
I’ll also give you some tips on how to avoid falling for these tricks and how to
make smart decisions on which supplements to buy.
31
Chapter 4
Sports Supplements Marketing Secrets…EXPOSED!
A Word From The “Muscle Nerd”…
“Ok, before we get started, I need to offer you a ‘word of
warning’…
You may have already said to yourself…
‘Yeah, yeah…I get it! Supplement companies use marketing hype
to sell their supplements. I can just skip on over to the “recipes”
section and start blasting out my own potions!’
Lemme tell ya…that would be a BIG MISTAKE!
Knowing that advertisements are created in a way to get you to
buy is NOT the lesson here. That’s old news.
What IS important is that you understand HOW these companies
pull the wool over consumers’ eyes so you will develop an
impenetrable force field around your wallet because certain
elements of their advertising will reach out and grab you by the
throat, sending up red flags that calling the 1-800 order number
would lead to a big waste of money!
In other words…
Do NOT skip this next section thinking you ‘already know
supplement companies are deceptive! This is the MOST
IMPORTANT section in the book and reading every word will
ensure that you are well-equipped with the knowledge needed to
avoid falling victim to these tactics ever again!”
While it should be no surprise that some supplement companies are better at
MARKETING than actually producing supplements that work, the fact is that
even armed with this basic understanding, consumers STILL are more than
willing to have the money sucked out of their wallets with the promise of a quick
solution to their fitness frustrations.
32
Despite 99% of supplement users agreeing that MOST of the supplements
they’ve purchased had limited, if ANY, real effect on their muscle gains or fat
losses, sales continue to soar and these same consumers admit that they
continue to try the latest and greatest new “discovery” in the hopes that THIS will
be the one supplement that will FINALLY work!
The lesson here?
It doesn’t matter how SMART you think you are…good advertising copy could
sell hot pink tube tops to a church choir group…on the way IN to the
congregation!
NO ONE (including myself) has a bulletproof force field against fraudulent claims
because deep down inside we just know that new discoveries are being made all
the time and it’s possible that the supplement CAN actually stand up to the
claims.
But while you MAY have a basic education in deceptive marketing practices used
by supplement companies…I’m about to hand you your MASTER’S DEGREE
and provide you with the “insider” knowledge that will make sure you are NEVER
fooled again!
Here are the “Top 10 Deceptive Marketing Strategies” used by supplement
manufacturers...
A Word From The “Muscle Nerd”…
“Oh, and since I’m already running the risk of upsetting a lot of
people, many of the explanations below will include fictitious
names and products.
We wouldn’t want to make any enemies now would we?”
Deceptive Marketing Strategy #10:
”Third Party Research”
Let’s use a “dummy” supplement company we’ll call “Muscles, Inc.”. And let’s
say that Muscles, Inc. has developed a supplement that will help speed up your
metabolism and burn fat through a natural form of Methox-Crypto-X (a dummy
supplement made by a dummy company).
33
This natural form of Methoxy-Crypto-X that Muscles, Inc. has created has been
tested by the company and been found to be inferior in quality and not work all
that well. However, the PURE form of MCX has plenty of scientific research
which proves that it can speed up the metabolism and help burn fat if taken at
mega doses.
Now, Muscles, Inc. has spent a great deal of time and energy into developing this
product and they really want it to sell.
Well, it would be a waste to not still try and make a profit from Methoxy-Crypto-X
so Muscles, Inc. takes the research that was done on the pure form of the
compound and passes it off as its own. Included with their commercials are
phrases, such as “Our scientific research has proven Crypto 100% effective.”
Visitors to their website can read the results themselves; however, unless they’re
well educated in the field of scientific jargon, they may not have a clue what
they’re looking at.
If no scientific studies exist for a supplement company to rip off, they have
another option. This option has gained popularity over the last few years, and
just happens to be one of those loopholes I talked about in the last chapter.
This option is dangerous, and becoming even more so because more and more
supplement companies are climbing on to the bandwagon. What some
companies are doing is hiring a person or company which is unconnected from
them to write brochures and press releases that promote the benefits of their
supplements, whether they are true or completely false.
This material then gets passed on to the sales people and store where the
supplement companies sell their products, where the material is then used by
stores and their employees to help sell the products.
Now your probably thinking, “How is it that they can get away with promoting
completely false material? After all, the DSHEA made it illegal to do such a
thing.”
Yes, it did. However, it made it illegal for the supplement companies to do it, not
for other people; thus, the loophole. By hiring a company that is unaffiliated with
them to write their promotional material and disseminate it, the supplement
company is avoiding breaking the law themselves.
34
Deceptive Marketing Strategy #9:
”Special Delivery Mechanisms”
“Special Delivery“ methods of “super supplement-transportation” include such
techniques as “Liquid Delivery” or “Effervescence” to attempt to somehow create
a red-carpet path directly to where we need the supplements to go.
“Liquid delivery” quite simply may just mean that the capsules contain any type of
oil (mainly cooking oils like sesame or canola) or in some cases, more beneficial
ingredients like conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) or fish oil.
But as far as the ability for these ingredients to somehow be more readily
absorbed simply because they’re in a “liquid” state...well...hmmm...didn’t we all
learn in high school biology class that our food gets dropped smack dab into our
stomach right after swallowing...which is filled with digestive juices that are,
well...LIQUID?
Our stomach acids and digestive system don’t discriminate. They will churn up
and break down pretty much anything we throw at it so trying to disguise a
supplement as “super-charged” because it can somehow throw on a “bullet
proof” coating or special delivery mechanism doesn’t mean it’s shooting into your
bloodstream at breakneck speed.
Now there ARE ways to better prime the body to assimilate certain nutrients and
supplements better...but sticking it in cooking oil or making it “bubbly” ISN’T
going to do it.
Deceptive Marketing Strategy #8:
”Customer Testimonials”
Just because someone says it’s so, does not mean it is actually true.
Supplement companies egregiously fill their ads up with testimonials by people
who claim to have used a product and had great success.
“I lost 10 pound in 10 days!”
“I lost three inches off my waist in one week!”
But here’s how this deception REALLY plays out…
A friend of mine (I’ll call here Lisa) is an actress and model. She spends a lot of
time in the gym and has a “smoking hot” body that most women would kill for.
35
One day her agent calls her up and says that he may have a fun project that she
would be perfect for…
He tells her that a supplement company is looking for a fit, gorgeous model who
would be willing to give up their current diet and exercise program for a short
time in order to “bulk up” here waistline and then get back on her training
regimen while popping their pills.
“And here’s the best part…” Lisa’s agent says.
“They’ll pay you $10,000 for the gig!”
“Hmmm…” thinks Lisa, “10,000 smackers to drink beer and eat nachos while I do
nothing but watch Oprah re-runs? Where do I sign?!”
So Lisa spent a good month and a half in her pajamas, renting movies and going
on a fast food binge in order to pack on a good 15 extra pounds…enough for a
good “before” picture at the studio with pasty white skin, a frustrated sad look on
her face, and “morning hair”!
Then (though it was difficult to make the switch), she was back in the gym and
eating cans of tuna and drinking water like a fish to magically erase the extra flab
she had put on, all the while popping a few meager pills supplied by her
“employer”, the supplement company and following the advice of her personal
trainer.
In the end, she quickly lost the weight, shot in to the studio for a quick spray tan
and an “after” photo…and a few months later she was posted in the fitness
magazine with her amazing makeover crediting the miracle pills that had
“changed her life”!
A Word From The “Muscle Nerd”…
“Of course there was a little, barely readable, disclaimer in fine
print down at the very bottom of the page that read,
‘Results may vary. Used in conjunction with a well balanced diet
and exercise program.’
More on this in a bit…”
Other companies, rather than pay people to lie, will actually use testimonials from
people who really have used their supplement…but then use PAID MODELS or
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even STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY as added images next to the testimonial allowing
YOU to assume that it came from the model him or herself!
And what about the validity of the claim itself?
If I write to a company and tell them that I gained 30 lbs of muscle using their
supplement, then they can legally use that testimonial any way they wish without
questioning the accuracy of my claim.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last ten years, you know that nobody
can lose that much weight or pack on that much muscle without eating a healthy
diet and exercising regularly—NOBODY!
Did the supplement actually contribute to the fat loss or muscle gain that the
testimonial claims?
Maybe.
But what shape were the subjects in BEFORE they began training (and using the
supplement) and to what degree did the supplement contribute to the changes
vs. the changes to diet and exercise program?
If that question can’t be answered, then the testimonial is practically worthless!
And finally, we have the industry favorite…
Pay a steroid-pumping pro bodybuilder gobs of money to hold up your “natural”
supplement and claim that it allowed them to achieve the hulk-like, shredded
proportions that grace the full page ad.
This is outright the most deceptive practice of all…and the most widely used!
You see, just like many sports (outside of pro competitive ones such as |
| Honnr gitt av : Lars Ivar, 22. juni 2009, 04:22
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