Cytosport Muscle Milk Bottles *Review*

As most of you probably know by now, I'm a HUGE connoisseur of protein supplements.  Whenever I get the chance, I try out something new on the shelf and see how it compares to what I've already had.  The other day I ran out of Combat Powder, and needed a quick, single day replacement for post workout nutrition.  I drove over to Walgreens, walked up to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of Chocolate Muscle Milk by Cytosport.  After my workout, I chugged that sucker down, and well.....here's my review of the stuff:

Taste:  The chocolate version tasted great!  Sure, it wasn't the best protein I've ever had, but it wasn't far off, especially for a single dosage.  It's very thick and filling, and tastes like a real and substantially chocolatey shake.  Not hard to drink at all, and honestly it tasted good enough that I wished I had more.  The chocolate flavor is very potent, and doesn't taste very "chemical" at all (as some other proteins do.)  Reminded me of a brownie, even though it's been years since I've had one of those.  I will say though that I'm not a very picky person, and can appreciate most forms of chocolate flavor.  You may be a little more discerning, but I can say that I'm quite confident you'd enjoy the beverage.

8/10 

Protein Content:  As far as the protein factor goes, the profile definitely isn't bad.  Is it the greatest protein source out there?  No.  But it's a good blend of many different proteins, including milk protein and a few types of whey.  The whey isn't amazingly refined, so I assume it won't absorb quite as quickly as a heavily filtered whey isolate or hydrolyzed whey.  Still, unless you're splitting hairs, it's not a huge deal, in fact I think it's good to have a blend so that the protein will feed your muscles over a longer period of time.  One bottle has a total of 25 grams of protein, which isn't huge, but is enough.  Just to compare though, most powdered proteins will give you about 50 grams of protein for the same number of calories as in a bottle of Muscle Milk.  So you're not getting a super concentrated dose, but the amount of protein your body can absorb in one sitting isn't that impressive anyway, so it's not a big deal.  Overall, the protein is of medium to medium high quality, and there's a decent amount of it.

7/10

Other Nutritional Profile:  One thing I noticed right away about Muscle Milk is that it has an interestingly large fat dosage.  Cytosport calls in "functional fat," which I assume means that their marketing it as healthy fat.  One bottle has a total of 9 g of fat, 1.5 g of which is saturated.  I'm not completely sure, but I think the fat mostly comes from the milk, as well as the oil used in the ingredients.  I can't vouch for exactly how high quality the fats are, but let's just say they don't raise any red flags or scare me away.  

A 14 oz bottle of Muscle Milk has only 3 grams of sugar, which is quite low considering the very sweet taste.  There are artificial sweeteners used, but I have no problem with those, though some people might.  The ingredient list is quite long, which I usually don't like, but expected in this case because most protein shakes have quite a bit that goes into them.  

Here's the nutritional information right off of Cytosport's website (click to enlarge):

7/10

Price:  Not the cheapest stuff out there, but definitely not the most expensive.  One bottle is around 3 bucks, not a killer investment if you need some quick protein.  I'd only use it as a temporary replacement for powder though, because you generally get a LOT more bang for your buck with powder.

8/10

Name:  SUPER COOL!  I mean seriously, "Muscle Milk"?  That's AWESOME!  Wish I'd thought of it.  Sure beats "whey protein isolate," or "mass gainer."  It's like, 

"Hey George, whatcha drinking?"

"Oh, nothing special, just MUSCLE MILK!!!"

Love it!

10/10

Overall, would I recommend the ready to drink Muscle Milk 14 oz bottles?  As far as the chocolate goes, yes I definitely would.  It's a great replacement for a powder for a day or two, and is a viable post workout protein source.  It's got a good blend of protein types, tastes great, and won't break the bank.  If you get a chance, try a bottle!  Let me know what you think!

Lift hard, lift heavy, refuel, and as always, good luck!!!

When To Shovel It In

Today, my coach put the hammer down.  He watched me in my last set of squats, and told me bluntly something I already knew in the back of my head:

"Seth, your form looks great.  Your speed is good, your depth is great, and as far as technique goes everything is fine.  But there needs to be about 50kg more on that bar, and the only way that's going to happen is YOU HAVE TO EAT MORE!"

(imagine all that with a thick spanish accent, even though he's like half Chilean and half eastern European.)

Now, I was repping 110kg.  That's about 245lbs, and I was squatting it so deep my butt was basically touching the ground.  My max is around 140kg, or 310lbs, to the same depth.  For skinny little me, that's not bad, and others might be happy with those numbers.  But when it comes down to it, I really should be cleaning 110, easily.  My leg strength is lacking, and in all honesty it's really ticking me off.

Squats and food go hand in hand.  When people Olympic lifters diet down, their squat is usually the first thing to go.  Then the clean, and finally the snatch.  The more leg dominant the movement, the more it will suffer from calorie cutting.  I've been stuck at around 163lbs of body weight, and I knew I needed to bump up my calories (from 3200), but hearing it so aggressively from my coach put me in high gear.  I shoveled down about 4 grand today, and will try to hit close to that with each successive training day.

But enough about me.  How can I relate this back to you?  Well, I'd like to let you in on the little hints your body might be giving you that it's about time to increase caloric intake.  They're pretty easy to spot, but not necessarily isolate as a diet issue.  And let me tell you, I experienced ALL of them, without any real clue as to why for the longest time.  DON'T make the same mistake I did:

Constant Fatigue (despite adequate sleep):  Sure, this could be a bunch of things.  But if you know you're getting AT LEAST 8 hours per night, are healthy without disease, and haven't changed much in your training recently, you can probably guess that your body is running on fumes.  Increase caloric intake by a few hundred calories, and see where that takes you.  I can almost guarantee you'll INSTANTLY feel better.

Strength Decrease:  If your lifts aren't going up  (and again, you know that other factors aren't to blame), it's time to put a little more food on your plate.  Don't be afraid of another sweet potato, or another helping of chicken and rice.  You'll thank yourself for it when the very next day your bench feels better than ever.

Injuries Won't Heal:  OK, this one could be for several reasons, and you shouldn't immediately attribute it to malnutrition. That being said though, eating too little will definitely not aid in healing.  It's very likely that a muscle tear, strain, or general aches and pains will get worse the more undernourished you are.  I noticed recently I've been having more and more strange pains in my legs that were never there before and appeared for no apparent reason.  Every day I've increased caloric intake, they've been barely noticeable.  I'm not sure what the details are on this one, but running low on food can show itself in strange places.

ALWAYS HUNGRY:  Well this one seems obvious, however many people fail to eat more even when their body is screaming for more food.  Listen, if you're getting a clean diet of complex carbs, lean proteins, and healthy fats, and are still hungry at the end of the day, don't be afraid to eat more.  If your food is nothing but quality, then your hunger pangs are definitely not false/fake.  Feed your body when you need to.  It's as simple as that.

Name Calling:  Yeah...I'm constantly getting called "skinny" by my coach.  Pretty obvious incentive to eat more.

Eating more can be daunting, but like I've said before, as long as you're eating clean, and training hard as hell, you will NOT be disappointed with the results.  Your body won't be able to afford to put on much weight as fat, and the little that does show up will live in the shadow of massive muscles.  I can't wait for that day, believe me.

Good Luck!

Lots of Protein, Little Gains

This is kind of a fun thing to think about, at least in my opinion.  All you muscle heads out there: have you ever really stopped to consider all those supplements you're taking, the ones that claim to be super effective, and contain recovery formulas so advanced that they're basically GUARANTEED to make you bigger, stronger, faster, more quickly than anything else on the market?  Well I've got a picture for you:

That there is two 13 gallon bags filled with containers of protein, representing about 8 months worth of supplements.  Contained inside are five Combat Powder tubs (4lbs of protein each), two tubs of Wheybolic Extreme 60 (2lbs of protein each), and two generic brand protein tubs (I believe one was a Six Star whey protein tub, and a Body Fortress protein tub, each again containing 2lbs.)  I've also had a couple more tubs of the Body Fortress protein that were thrown out previous to this instance.  That's a total of at least 32lbs of whey protein, not to mention a couple other supplement bottles in there like Amplified N.O. Loaded pre-workout and Purple Wraath (a branch chain amino acid blend.)

Let's think about this for a second.  Do I have more muscle mass than I did at the beginning of this year?  I sure do!  But do I have an extra 32 lbs of solid muscle packed onto my frame?  NOT...EVEN...CLOSE.  If I've gained 4 lbs of muscle this year, I'd be quite pleased.  And believe me, it didn't all come from the supplements (I've been eating like a horse.)

So what does this mean?  Are supplements worthless?  Are they placebos?  Are the supplement companies screwing you out of your money?

The answer is no.....and a little bit of yes at the same time.

Sure, you can bet those companies make their products for a LOT less money than they charge you.  But are they selling you worthless powder in a plastic jug?  NO!  Supplements have come an extremely long way since their introduction in the 70's, and they ARE very advanced blends of fast digesting proteins that your body has a much easier time using to build muscle. Believe me, I wouldn't be able to work out nearly as often or as hard as I do without supplementation.  They greatly assist with recovery, and keep me feeling tip top in order to hit it heavy as often as possible.

But supplements AREN'T miracle workers.  The muscle building process is a slow and tedious one, and despite the quality of that powder you're putting into your body, at the end of the day only a tiny fraction of it will be used to build the solid muscle you so desperately desire.  It's a depressing fact, but it's one you should know before you go scooping loads and loads of the latest whey protein blend into your shaker bottle.

In my opinion, you should obviously keep supplementing with proteins, pre-workouts, and stuff like that.  They work.  But don't go overboard on the dosage, because you'll just be wasting the stuff.  Your body  can only use so much, and as the picture above shows quite clearly, it adds up after a while.

Oh, and if you're looking for a way to cut down on supplement cost, how about eating some more real food?

Lift hard, eat big, and get strong.  Good Luck!

Confessions Toward Getting Bigger

I've been wanting to write more opinionated, personal articles for quite some time.  Sure I love bringing you guys all sorts of healthy foods to try out, but rambling off nutrition facts gets old after a while.  So I'll bring this post to the other side of the blogging spectrum and give you an inside look on some of the struggles I've had with dieting, weight goals, and how they affect the big picture.  Sit back and grab a bowl of air popped popcorn, this is about to get deep.

So as you may or may not know, I'm a weightlifter.  No, that's not what you think, I don't just go to the gym and lift weights like everyone else, trying to target specific muscles and get the "big guns."  A weightlifter is technically someone who lifts weight in the Olympic style, focusing on two main lifts, the clean and jerk, and the snatch.  I won't go nuts trying to explain those two lifts, look them up on youtube if you're curious.  Let me just tell you that they're far different and far more total body intensive than your traditional bicep curl.  Anyway, being a competitive weightlifter means I'm in the gym 9 times a week, squatting, snatching, cleaning, and jerking as much weight as possible for high volume.  Because this sport is judged solely on how much weight is lifted successfully, I need as much muscle as possible packed into as little space as possible.  I need dense, explosive, muscle tissue that's very flexible and ready to work at a moment's notice.  Sounds easy to get, right? Just load up the steaks on the grill, mix a few protein shakes, and train hard as hell.

But there's a catch.

This sport is also judged in weight classes.  What this means is that everyone who competes falls into a class depending on their body weight, which more accurately pits athletes against each other and can really determine who is stronger, has better technique, or in general a better combination of both.  It wouldn't really be fair to pit the scrawny, short, 63 kg dude against Mr. big and brutish weighing in at 150 kg, would it?  This means weightlifters, while being able to eat a LOT depending on their training, need to watch their diet and make sure it's the most effective combination of foods that will give them both enough energy to complete workouts, and enough excess calories to rebuild torn muscle fiber.  Diet is extremely important in Olympic weightlifting.

And there's one more catch too.  Every lifter has an optimal weight to lift at, usually based on their height and build.  To lift optimally at a body weight of 77 kg, you should be about 5'7".  And here's where my struggle comes in.  I'm 5'11", which means I should weight around 200-230 lbs to lift at my optimal capacity.  I currently weight 162 lbs, which puts me in the lower end of the 77 kg class.  I knew I needed to gain weight, and believe me, my coach has been yelling that fact in my face for the longest time.

Maybe you're thinking "so what the heck are you waiting for!?! You get to EAT A LOT OF FOOD!  NICE!!!!"  But not so fast.  I'm not too keen to get big and fat quickly, as I considered myself pretty fit and trim at 158-160 lbs.  I had visible abs, pretty decent build, and felt good.  Purposely trying to gain weight, no matter how cleanly, might mean I need to sacrifice a good looking build for the sake of added muscle.  This, to me, was a little bit depressing (and honestly, it still is.)  Sure, putting on weight by eating a lot of clean food and training your butt off ensures that MOST of the weight you put on will be muscle, especially if you're not in a huge caloric excess.  But there's absolutely zero percent chance of gaining weight and having it be 100% muscle.  In fact, no matter how clean you do it, the percentage usually isn't even close to that number.  And purposely putting on fat, to me, didn't sound like fun.

But I changed my diet anyway.  I added about 500 calories more initially, and when I plateaued around 161 for a week or two, I added a couple hundred more.  I eat all the clean food I can, and don't pay attention to calories quite as much as I used to when I was merely trying to maintain my weight.  Roughly I'm around 3200-3300 calories a day now, but when I get up to above 170 lbs, I'm sure this figure will have to increase by another 20% at least.  My training is hard enough that I need to eat a LOT of food to maintain my weight.  And, resembling more the ectomorph build, I have a pretty fast metabolism as it is.

Honestly, while I love food like no one else, it makes my heart sink a little to know that I have to keep shoveling in the food to the point where I force my body to gain weight one way or another.  I don't like seeing the little bits of fat showing up around my midsection (though at this point they're very very small, and I doubt anyone would really notice), but I do like looking in the mirror and seeing a more full, muscular, stronger me.  So how do I get through it?  How do I keep a positive spin on the weight gain process?

Well, firstly, the way you look can depend a lot on the clothes you wear, the amount of water you're retaining, and the mirror you're looking in, not to mention a million other variables.  What I know in my head is that when I see myself in my dorm room mirror, and I think quietly that I look big enough as it is, and maybe I should stop trying to gain, I remind myself that this view is skewed.  I'm close to the mirror, and have my own mental image of myself that warps reality a bit.  Anyone around me would tell me I look like a rail.  I know that.  I don't look big to others, and therefore I tell myself I shouldn't look big to my own eyes either.  I only weigh 162 for goodness sake.  162 lbs ISN'T big, especially if you're 5'11".

I also keep looking at pictures of my weightlifting idols.  Klokov, Chigishev, Ilin, Dolega, all 105 kg or 105+kg lifters.  They are huge, with ginormous amounts of USEFUL muscle.  I tell myself I need to look and perform like them, and I won't stop training or eating until I do.  I tell myself every bite and every squat will bring me one step closer to glory, and when I achieve that, I won't look half bad regardless.  How could I?  Tons of healthy food, tons of exercise, what could go wrong?  So what if my abs aren't quite visible.  When I throw 230 kg over my head, I don't think anyone will care, and I don't think I will either.

Dmitry Klokov, probably my favorite lifter (my height too)

Evgeny Chigishev, the pure essence of POWER

So my friends, if you're on a journey to get bigger, and are second guessing the weight gain, remember to take a deep breath, realize that abs aren't all that matters in the world, and grab a sweet potato.  Train hard, eat big, get strong, grab glory.  I won't stop until I do...that's for sure.

Get Big, The Right Way

Sometimes, if you want something done, you just have to man up and do it.  I'm sorry ladies, but I don't believe this article will too strongly apply to you (there's always the occasional exception, but I'm speaking to the majority here).  I know a ton of guys out there wanting to get all big and strong, burly and beefy.  It's a common goal, one that many males wish to accomplish as soon as they possibly can.  Unfortunately, getting big isn't so simple, and there are thousands out there doing it wrong, or not doing it at all, day in and day out.  Getting big the right way takes work and commitment.  It takes sacrifice and determination.  And above all else, it requires a lot of food, and, as Ronnie Coleman (7 time Mr. Olympia) so famously put it, "lifting heavy ass weight."

So where do you start?  How do you jump on that muscle building train?  First of all, you have to realize that a good mass building regiment will require a change in diet and exercise routine.  Let's talk diet first.  A lot of people just think that to get big, you have to eat big.  OK, I can follow that train of thought, and to a certain point I will agree.  When it comes down to it, IF YOU WANT TO GET BIG, YOU NEED TO EAT BIG.  

What does eating big really mean though?

Well, in most general bulking terms, eating big means eating around 500 calories OVER your maintenance calories, or the caloric value at which you can maintain your weight.   There's a lot of room for little nuances here and there, but this is the most general formula.  And most of the time, it will relate to about a one pound increase in body weight per week.  Later, I'll describe what else you need to be doing to make the most of those extra calories, and ensure to a certain degree that you're putting on as much muscle as you can.

Where should these extra calories come from?

Well, the uneducated meat-head would most likely scream out...PROTEIN!!!  While there's value in that statement, and while you should consume more protein, the calories should really be a mix of nutrients that fit into your macros (remember macros? If not, here's my article about these wondrously useful little things: http://foodguru802.blogspot.com/2011/10/macros-what-they-are-and-how-to-use.html ).  I would suggest starting with macros that are pretty close to around 55/25/20 (55% of daily calories come from carbs, 25% of daily calories come from protein, 20% of daily calories come from fat).  You'll need to determine the actual amounts yourself, depending on the calories you calculate you'll need to take in.  Here's a free calculator that can help determine your daily caloric needs:

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

Here's the deal.  Bulking requires experimentation to determine what your body responds to best.  If you go a few weeks on a new diet and find you aren't gaining weight, YOU HAVE TO CHANGE SOMETHING!!!!  You won't gain weight if you don't find the right diet.  Either eat more, or change around your macros.  Sometimes something as simple as a few more daily carbs can kick start the weight gain.

If you gain for a while on a certain diet, then stop, most likely you need to increase your calories.  Go slowly, add another 100 or 200 every day and see what happens after a week or two.  Also, keep your macro ratios consistent.  They were working...right?  Don't bulk too fast, or you'll end up putting on unwanted bodyfat.  Though that's another point I should probably cover.  DON'T BE AFRAID TO PUT ON A LITTLE FAT.  To get big and strong, sometimes you need to sacrifice that perfect six pack.  If you're depressed about this, remember that if you're as skinny as a pole, abs don't count anyway.  You can always cut fat later, and with a higher muscle density, it will be much easier in the long run if you ever do decide to lean out.  If you're eating big, a little fat will inevitably show up.  Keep an eye on the mirror as well as the scale, and if you feel like you're putting on too much, either change your caloric intake, or your macros.

What are the best bulking foods?  Well, I like clean, slow bulks.  That's what I've been on for a few months now.  I'm not looking to pile on the weight, I just want a slow, steady gain.  So I eat big, but I eat as clean as I can.  My favorite bulking foods are:

Sweet Potatoes:  A great complex carb source, and without a doubt will help to put on quality mass.

Peanut Butter:  If you want to put on weight, peanut butter is your best friend.  It's easy to eat, and very dense in calories.  Get the natural stuff, and you'll get a whole heaping of healthy fats and proteins as well as a bunch of quality calories.  Quality calories=quality mass.

Mixed Nuts:  Same deal here, lots of calories for not that many pieces.  Easy to eat, and will help the weight come on nice and steadily.

Oatmeal with Whey Protein:  My favorite breakfast food.  Lots of complex carbs with a whole heaping of protein, will fuel those muscles and help them grow quite quickly.

Chocolate Milk:  Packed with calories, simple carbs, and an awesome blend of whey and casein protein that will feed your muscles for long after a workout.  Drink a glass with lunch, or more optimally, after a heavy workout.  You can even add some whey in there.  If you have a blender, you can add some peanut butter too.  Get creative!

What about meats?  Well I still eat very lean meats, like fish, chicken and turkey, but you can throw a few more caloric meats in there if you want.  Enjoy some steak, or pork every now and then, especially after a tough workout.  It'll really add mass quickly due to the high caloric value and protein density.  Not to mention it's amazingly delicious.

To finish off the diet section, I just want to say one more thing about clean bulking.  It's a great idea, and a noble one, but for some, it just doesn't work.  Honestly, if you're a hard gainer (gain weight extremely slowly if at all, no matter how much you seem to eat), you may need to throw a few "questionable" foods in your diet.  Enjoy a heaping plate of pasta with meat sauce a few nights a week, chow down on that burger or pazo, and have a big glass of chocolate milk a few times a day.  And keep spooning that peanut butter down your piehole.  There isn't a person on earth that can't eat enough to gain weight, so stop complaining that you can't put it on.

I will suggest clean bulking every day of my life, but "dirty-bulking" has its place, and has been known to work wonders for the impossibly skinny.  My advice? Stay as clean as you can, but don't be afraid of a big, greasy, meat packed burger once in a while.  You're trying to pack it on...right?

EXERCISE ROUTINE:

Now I don't want to make this section quite as long, however it has the potential to go on forever.  Let me start by saying this:  If you want a serious mass building routine, head over to bodybuilding.com, or look at some of Mark Rippetoe's stuff, or...well basically you HAVE TO DO YOUR RESEARCH.  I don't have the perfect routine for you.  Chances are no one does, you'll have to improvise, and see what works best.  But I'll give you the general gist of things.

THE BEST MASS BUILDING EXERCISES ARE COMPOUND MOVEMENTS

What does this mean?  It means squats, deadlifts, standing presses, bench presses, and more squats.  You want to use every muscle in your body in every single rep, with heavy weight.  The mass building rep range is generally 5-8 reps, though I've seen people recommend as little as 1-3 (though this is more strength training territory.)  Load up the weights, and push yourself with every set.  This is the only way to ensure that all those calories you're consuming go to where you want them to:  your muscles.

Why are compound movements the best?  First of all, they use a TON of muscles.  Second, they activate your biggest muscles (leg and back muscles) which in turn release testosterone which encourages maximum muscle growth.  Keep those weights heavy, and the intensity high.

Anatoly Pisarenko squatting as deep as possible

Franco Columbo completing a deadlift with textbook perfect form

If you're a hard gainer, and are having an extremely hard time putting on mass, here's what I suggest.  Cut your workouts a little short.  Do a couple fewer sets (but make the ones that you do count for double), so that you burn a few less calories, and those calories can in turn go toward rebuilding a bigger and stronger you.  It's that simple really.  Oh, and one more thing.  CUT CARDIO.  If you are already a hard gainer, cardio won't help.  If you really want to keep that treadmill in your workout, make sure you're eating like a horse.  I mean it.  A bull even, or an elephant.  Scarf those calories.

So there you have it.  The most basic ideas behind getting big.  As you may have seen they're not even close to one-size-fits-all, but like anything, it's a start.  Head over to bodybuilding.com if you want some real great mass building tips, and DO YOUR RESEARCH.  Like I said, getting big takes commitment.

Eat big, lift big, be the beast.  Good Luck!