BODYBUILDING MAURITIUS & SOUTH AFRICA

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Steroids:a Jekyll and Hyde Perspective. By Veeraj Goyaram

Opinion

Steroids: A Jekyll and Hyde Perspective
Researched & Composed by Veeraj Goyaram

DISCLAIMER

"Bodybuilding Mauritius & South Africa does not encourage the use of steroids, neither do we vilify them. Our aim is to educate the public about them, tell you what they are and what they aren't from a scientific perspective. We are not seeking to create sensational news like some in the mainstream media. Our information is carefully researched. If we are uncertain we simply keep shut. We do not work out steroid cycles and neither do we supply them so please don't email us asking to hook you up."

The media has been very successful in unjustly portraying steroids as evil substances to the point that most people consider them as evil. However, it is no secret that the media is miserably ignorant on the topic of drugs and seems unwilling to do proper research.

People would be fine hearing all sorts of ads for booze and cigarettes, often with their kids around, but once they hear "steroid" they go crazy. They are ready to label steroid users with any name conceivable. The truth is people toss around the word steroid without even knowing what the hell a steroid is.

Believe it or not, most of us has taken a steroid at one point in our lives as a number of drugs, like anti-inflammatories, are steroid-based. Nevertheless, what we normally refer to when using the term steroid is "anabolic steroids", steroids that are able to stimulate growth in tissues, especially skeletal muscle.

Steroids for medical use

Anabolic steroids, which are based on the male hormone testosterone, were developed for medical usage like for the treatment of muscle loss from certain diseases, delayed puberty and to replace testosterone in men whose bodies no longer produce enough testosterone. In many countries testosterone is being used to treat patients with the same diseases (Rice et al., 2008; Haider et al., 2014). Yes, type 2 diabetics are given steroids. No joke, man!

Not making gains? You don't need steroids
YOU NEED PROPER COACHING
vicgoyaram@gmail.com

Steroids use and abuse among athletes
Steroids were never designed for use among the athletic population. The first documented use of steroids is in weightlifting circles in the 50's and eventually these drugs crept into other sports for use as a performance enhancer.

If you think that bodybuilding is the only sport in which steroids are abused then you will need to come from under the rock you've been living, my friend. Steroids are abused in many other sports but it is just that only in bodybuilding is it so obvious. Because bodybuilding is a minority sport and hard to understood subculture it is a very easy target for finger pointing. Most elite cyclists, for instance, are on steroids. Lance Armstrong admitted to use.

Steroids when used in moderation and under close medical supervision may in fact be safer than most drugs that are prescribed to people. Don't you dare take for granted that all FDA-approved drugs are safe. A lot of them are unsafe but yet made it to the market. Very often people die because of prescription drugs, way more often than steroid-related deaths. My mom was given anti-hypertensive drugs by the doctor at the community health centre and she started complaining of swollen feet and excessive phlegm in the throat. Just to tell you that side effects of prescription drugs are manifold. Drugs are not that innocent. How they came to the market is another story. You'll be disgusted to know how.

“We are currently in the midst of an epidemic of deaths caused by the misuse of prescription medications.” Pylkas and Bart (2014) Neurology Clinical Practice.

Not without risks, though
Of course, when abused steroids can be a serious problem. Some people looking for the famous "all kindz of gainz, bro" go on a steroid cycle extravaganza which often includes large amounts of orals for long periods of time, burdening their livers in the process. Some go on cycle, love it, feel inadequate without it and therefore never come off cycle ("Forever on cycle" LOL). Of course, we have all heard about steroid abuse-related heart, liver, and kidney complications and untimely deaths. Therefore, you'd be dumb to believe that steroids are harmless.

How much their side effects can bite you in the bum is dependent on many factors, mainly
(a) the type of steroids used
(b) the amount of steroids used
(c) the duration of use and
(d) Importantly, your genetics.

Yes, genetics! Genetics never seem to give you a break, man. Because genetics dictate how we all respond differently to drugs we ingest too (pharmacogenetics). Some people can smoke a 10 cigarettes a day and develop lung cancer at 50 while others may smoke 40 a day and still live to blow their 80th candle. The same for steroids, not everyone will respond to steroids the same way, be it in terms of gains and side effects. Read below:

"Steroids can help give your training partner 20+ inch gunns, a ripped six pack and a lucrative endorsement contract while it may give you a pair of boobs, bad acne, a dead sex drive and an empty wallet. Some can get away with subjecting his/ her body to chemicals while others simply cannot."

Like alcohol it's all about how you use it
"Alcohol can cause people to beat up their entourage, get their butt kicked or even kill people through drunk driving. Alcohol may cause some to lose their job, assets, friends, wife and mistress. On the flip side, there's no harm if it is alcohol in the form of a toast at a wedding or special occasion, a glass of wine before sex with your partner or enjoying one cold beer at a braai with your friends. It is not the alcohol that’s good or bad, it’s how it’s used. The same goes for steroids"

STOP! READ THIS ARTICLE

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References

Haider A, Yassin A, Doros G, Saad F. Effects of long-term testosterone therapy on patients with "diabesity": results of observational studies of pooled analyses in obese hypogonadal men with type 2 diabetes. Int J Endocrinol. 2014;2014:683515

Pylkas AM, Bart G. Prescribing controlled substances during a prescription drug epidemic. Neurol Clin Pract. 2014 Apr;4(2):99-105.

Rice D, Brannigan RE, Campbell RK, Fine S, Jack L Jr, Nelson JB, Regan-Klich J.Men's health, low testosterone, and diabetes: individualized treatment and a multidisciplinary approach. Diabetes Educ. 2008 Nov-Dec;34 Suppl 5:97S-112S;

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&
NO BRAIN NO GAIN BODYBUILDING By Veeraj Goyaram

My Bio: I am a Mauritian originally from Roche Bois, Port Louis and now based in Cape Town, South Africa where I am busy with my postgraduate studies in molecular biology of exercise. My research, supervised by Prof. Edward Ojuka and Dr. Tertius Kohn, looks at the influence of nutrition and exercise in gene expression in muscle, research which is relevant and applicable to exercising individuals, sports persons and diabetic individuals. The knowledge that I share with you stems from my 18 years of experience in bodybuilding and 8 years (and counting) of university education in the field. I have also published work in the American Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology and Metabolism (2012, 2014), International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism (2013) and co-authored two book chapters on exercise and diabetes. I also presented my research work at the 2012 International Sports and Exercise Nutrition Conference (UK). I am grateful to each and everyone at the UCT Research Unit for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine. "Knowledge without sharing is worth nothing"

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©,2013, Veeraj Goyaram, Bodybuilding Mauritius. Any reprinting in any type of media is prohibited.

Disclaimer: The Content on this site is intended to be used for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to be and should not be interpreted as medical advice or a diagnosis of any health or fitness problem, condition or disease; or a recommendation for a specific test, doctor, care provider, procedure, treatment plan, product, or course of action. BODYBUILDING MAURITIUS is not a medical or healthcare provider and your use of this site does not create a doctor / patient relationship. We disclaim all responsibility for the professional qualifications and licensing of, and services provided by, any physician or other health providers posting on or otherwise referred to on this Site and/or any Third Party Site. Never disregard the medical advice of your physician or health professional, or delay in seeking such advice, because of something you read on this Site. We offer this Site AS IS and without any warranties. Correspondence: vicgoyaram@gmail.com

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Jack Up Your Training Intensity With 21s.

5:08 AM TRAINING MEGASECTION No comments

High Intensity Training Series

Jack Up Your Training Intensity With 21s

By Veeraj Vic Goyaram

Ronnie Coleman is well known for doing his barbell curls with 21s

Most of you probably already know about 21s as a great way of making your workouts interesting, fun and to bomb a lagging bodypart by hitting it in a way that it is not accustomed to. The use of this awesome technique mustn't be limited to barbell curls as many exercises can lend themselves to 21s.

What are 21s?

For those who don't know, 21s involve dividing the range of motion of an exercise into two parts and then performing 7 reps from start point to midpoint, 7 more reps from midpoint to finish and then 7 final reps using the entire range of motion. For the barbell curls, this is illustrated below. But this order doesn't always have to be this way. You can switch things around.

Illustration of 21s on barbell curls.

Exercises that I have tried 21s on

Shoulders: Shoulder presses and even one arm side laterals.
Biceps: Barbell and cable curls
Triceps: Cable pushdowns
Back: lat pulldowns
Legs: leg extensions, squats, leg curls and machine adduction exercise

Have you tried 21s on any other exercise? Feel free to write and share with us how you went about! We'd like to hear from you.

How to use 21s?

If you're starting out on 21s begin with a light weight and perform a maximum of about 2-3 sets per workout. Don't be over enthusiastic and go overboard. 21s are also very taxing and I wouldn't recommend it for more than 1 exercise. Many top champions recommend performing it only once or twice per month per bodypart.

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Leg training trick: Leg curls before squats. By Veeraj Goyaram

1:40 PM TRAINING MEGASECTION No comments

Training Series

leg training trick: perform leg curls before squats

by veeraj goyaram

Take a few minutes and analyse your current leg training. Are you killing yourself with endless sets of quadriceps exercises but only throwing in a few sets of leg curls at the end of a leg workout for the hamstrings? If yes, then stop this madness! Here is why:

Many, if not most, amateur bodybuilders are weak in the hamstrings compared to their quads. You often see good legs in front poses but as soon as they turn to the side or the rear their hamstrings lag behind.

Hamstrings need more than just a few sets of leg curls at the end of a leg workout. They need special attention. You need to prioritize them. Sure, your squats and leg presses do work the hamstrings to some extent but that is NOT enough. The hamstrings are designed to curl, and curl you must.

A good way of bringing the hamstrings up is to perform leg curls early in the leg workout, preferably before squats and leg presses. This is a technique that I began to implement in 2011 following a seminar by IFBB Pro Marius Dohne during which he advised performing leg curls before quadriceps work as a means to deal with knee problems. I initially started performing all my leg curls sets early in the workout because it provided a good warmup for my knees. Those with knee problems can give this a try.

Marius Dohne on his recent comeback
at the 2014 Europa Pro.

As I made the above a regular feature in my leg training I began to notice some other benefits:

A. Better hamstring progress because I give them nice attention early in the workout when I am still fresh.

B. Better feel in squats because with a pump in my hamstrings I feel stronger at the bottom position of squats (and leg presses). I get like a "cushioning effect" and this encourages me to go deep in both quad exercises.

Here is my my current leg workout:

1. Leg extensions [sets of 20-25]

2. Lying leg curls [sets of 10-12]

3. Leg presses [sets of 20-25]

4. Squats [sets of 6-10]

5. Adductor machine [sets of 15]

John Delarosa showing stellar hamstring
development

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©,2013, Veeraj Goyaram, Bodybuilding Mauritius. Any reprinting in any type of media is prohibited.

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Tricks of the Supplement Industry. By Veeraj Goyaram

1:46 PM SUPPLEMENTS MEGASECTION No comments

Some Tricks of the supplement industry to watch out for

You've been warned

Pas dire pane dire!

By Veeraj Goyaram

While there are some really decent companies in the supplements business, there is also a sizeable number of m0ronic players whose aim is to make profit while shoving their products down your throat. They will sell you shitty products with hefty pricetags. Their main target is the newbies and dumb folks, the same crowd who would invest in penis enlargement tablets. What I am going to do in this article is write about some of the dirty little tricks that some scumbag companies use. For them it's all about making money.

Dirty Little Trick #1: Faking with performance enhancing drugs.

In a previous article I wrote about how supplements can be faked with performance enhancing drugs. Numerous supplements have been shown to contain ‘classic’ anabolic steroids like metandienone (Dianabol), stanozolol (Winstrol), oxandrolone (Anavar) etc. This intentional "faking" of products is done in order to provide an "instant gratification" to consumers, as in "Dude I can feel this shit working already!", as a means to generate sales. Besides steroids, other classified compounds like Sibutramine and Clenbuterol have been found in weight loss drugs. One more time, please read my article for an in-depth treatment of the topic.

Dirty Little Trick #2: Boosting protein content with cheap stuff.
(a.k.a. "Spiking").

Protein is getting expensive. With the Chinese and Russians buying huge amounts of whey protein for use in baby formulas and beverage multinationals bringing out protein RTDs, little is left for the supplement industry. Prices go up and you the consumer pay for it. Unscrupulous companies rip you off as follows:

a. Say a protein powder is supposed to contain 22g of protein per serving.

b. The company can use as little as 10g whey protein.

c. The rest of the "protein" is from cheap amino acids like Glycine, Taurine and even Creatine Monohydrate. Creatine is dirt cheap nowadays. These amino acid or amino-acic based additives boost the Nitrogen content of the products so that they pass as protein when tested. This is a less shitty way of boosting nitrogen content than what the Chinese were doing during the "Melamine in milk" episode.

We never know how much of the protein is from whey protein and how
much is from cheap amino acids.

The above label is downright infuriating because they are using cheap aminos to pass as protein. They could have used some BCAAs because there is some evidence that a low protein beverage when supplemented with the BCAA Leucine (6.25g whey + 5g Leucine) can have the same muscle building benefits as a high protein beverage (25g) (Churchward-Venne et al., 2014).

Dirty Little Trick #3: Proprietary blends
A lot has already been said about proprietary blends. More often than not supplement companies will use proprietary blends as a means to hide their secret mix of ingredients from imitators and competitors. Truth be told, 90% of the time it is simply to hide the fact that their proprietary blend contains very little of the active/costly ingredients listed. Here is a label below of a preworkout supplement. Let us analyse it.

a. It means that you are getting more Arginine Alpha-ketoglutarate than any other ingredient in the blend, as ingredients are listed in order of amount.

b. How much of each ingredient are you getting? What tells you that there isn't 4000 mg of Arginine and 145 mg of everything else?

c. Why isn't the amount of Caffeine listed? Stimulant-sensitive individuals can benefit from this information. Luckily some companies are disclosing the stimulant content inspite of using proprietary blends.

Example of a proprietary blend

Below is an example of a label with full ingredient disclosure. It is from the company NutraBio. Shout out to them!

That's all for today. There are many more dirty little tricks but these three are the ones that usually stand out. Should you be in doubt about any supplement, don't hesitate to drop me a line.

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------------------------------------------
Join us for discussions on our facebook group
Free advice & daily bodybuilding talk
Your #1 Bodybuilding destination in Mauritius

BODYBUILDING MAURITIUS

_________________________________________________________________________

©,2013, Veeraj Goyaram, Bodybuilding Mauritius. Any reprinting in any type of media is prohibited.

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Blast your gunns with Zottman Curls. By Veeraj Goyaram

8:55 AM OLD SCHOOL BODYBUILDING, TRAINING MEGASECTION No comments

Exercise Focus

blast your gunns zottman curls
BY VEERAJ GOYARAM

The Zottman curl is one of the exercises that you will rarely see in the gym nowadays. In my most popular arm articles on this website I described how the Zottman curl helped me in getting my biceps and forearms to grow.

Zottman curls are performed as follows:

You start the curl with palms facing up and once you reach the top of the movement pronate your wrist (turn downwards). On the negative portion of the rep you are in fact performing the eccentric portion of a reverse curl. It is best to keep the elbows close to the body rather than allow them to flare out. Lower the weight if necessary to achieve perfect form. Zottmanns can be performed standing or seated and two arms at the same time or in an alternate fashion. It is not always comfortable to perform in the beginning and it takes a bit of practice to master the technique and build the mental connection on of this exercise.

The Zottmann curls: another forgotten old school exercise

Add caption

The Zottman Curl as originally described

I remember reading on a discussion board on the original Builders & Lifters group that the above description of Zottman curls is not correct. The true Zottman curls are performed in another way. After researching some old school articles I came across the below description on the excellent Anthony Ditillo blog website, a treasure chest of knowledge.

Here is the original description:
"Stand erect with a dumbbell in each hand. Curl the right-hand bell, with the palm up and the wrist bent strongly upward. When the bell reaches the shoulder, pronate the hand (turn the palm downward) and lower the bell, keeping the wrist bent strongly upward as in the reverse curl. But as you lower the right hand bell, you simultaneously curl the left-hand bell, with the palm of the left hand up. And when the right arm is fully straightened, the left arm should be fully flexed. You then pronate the left hand and lower the bell, at the same time supinating the right hand and curling the bell in that hand. Both the arms work at the same time, one hand coming up as the other hand is going down, the upward movement being always a regular curl, and the downward movement always a reverse curl. The illustration shows the right hand coming up and the left hand going down."

David Willoughby, Powerful Arms, Chapter 6

The proper execution of the Zottman curl (right)
as described by David Willoughby, Powerful Arms, Chapter 6

Finally we get to see a video of Vince Gironda teaching Zottman curls, courtesy of Mr. Robert Torres, a student of the late Iron Guru.

Share the knowledge

share the article to friends

teach others in the gym

Acknowledgements

I acknowledge the following persons for the material that were helpful for this article:

a. Mr. Anthony Ditillo via his website, a treasure chest of old-school bodybuilding

b. Mr. Robert Torres, student of Vince Gironda, for sharing videos and Gironda knowledge

My Bio: I am a Mauritian originally from Roche Bois, Port Louis and now based in Cape Town, South Africa where I am busy with my postgraduate studies in molecular biology of exercise. My research, supervised by Prof. Edward Ojuka and Dr. Tertius Kohn, looks at the influence of nutrition and exercise in gene expression in muscle, research which is relevant and applicable to exercising individuals, sports persons and diabetic individuals. The knowledge that I share with you stems from my 18 years of experience in bodybuilding and 8 years (and counting) of university education in the field. I have also published work in the American Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology and Metabolism (2012, 2014), International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism (2013) and co-authored two book chapters on exercise and diabetes. I also presented my research work at the 2012 International Sports and Exercise Nutrition Conference (UK). I am grateful to each and everyone at the UCT Research Unit for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine. "Knowledge without sharing is worth nothing"

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Mauritian Bodybuilding Legends: Mario CLAM.

9:44 PM OLD SCHOOL BODYBUILDING No comments

Bodybuilding Mauritius Legends

Mauritian Bodybuilding Legends

Mario CLAM
By Bodybuilding Mauritius

Mario Clam a honoré la scène culturiste mauricien à la fin des années 70 et pendant les années 80. La plupart d'entre vous jeunes fans de culturisme n'étaient pas encore nés à cet époque. C'était en effet l'âge d'or du culturisme mauricien. Les concours de culturisme, sous la sanction de la Mauritius Association of Bodybuilders (MABB) étaient fantastiques et de nombreux concurrents de haut niveau, comme Mario Clam et Rajen Sabapathee, y figuraient. Nous aimerions saisir de cette occasion pour honorer la carrière de culturisme et de la contribution de Mario au sport à travers sa participation active avec les fédérations de bodybuilding.

Ppalmarès de Mario Clam

1983 Mr. Rose Hill

1979 Mr. Rose Hill

1988 Mr. Indian Ocean (Reunion)

Visite de Serge Nubret a Maurice

©,2015. Bodybuilding Mauritius. Any reprinting in any type of media is prohibited. Pictures and information courtesy of Laura Clam-Do and Mario Clam facebook page.

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Join us for discussions on our facebook group
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BODYBUILDING MAURITIUS & SOUTH AFRICA

Parmi nou ban champions seniors (Our senior champions)

Nou ena aussi la releve ki pe parer (Our juniors)

Sans oublier nou ban veterans (Veterans still going strong)

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Steroids:a Jekyll and Hyde Perspective. By Veeraj Goyaram

Monday, April 21, 2014

Jack Up Your Training Intensity With 21s.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Leg training trick: Leg curls before squats. By Veeraj Goyaram

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Tricks of the Supplement Industry. By Veeraj Goyaram

Monday, April 7, 2014

Blast your gunns with Zottman Curls. By Veeraj Goyaram

Friday, April 4, 2014

Mauritian Bodybuilding Legends: Mario CLAM.

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