Everyone wants to be the best, be at the pinnacle of whatever sport or activity they may be participating in. We get it in our heads that to beat everyone else, we have to give ourselves a one up and this is where steroids and other performance enhancing drugs (PEDS) enter into the equation. Sure there are side effects to their use, but they can be mitigated by incredibly careful, doctor assisted monitoring. What I mean is frequent blood work and hormone panels. 98% of PEDS users do not fit into this category of careful use. So why even decide to go that route? You are short changing yourself, determining that you will fail at achieving your goal without even trying.

Some will say, oh but I have peaked after one year of training. To that I say, it has been a damn year you idiot. Even two or three still leaves you in the relative area of newness to training. You might know how to train better but as far as packing mass, you have not been doing it for all that long. If you are 6 foot 200 pounds, you have not peaked. Genetics will limit us to some degree but different training method, can and have been proven to overcome a weak genetic predisposition to being a hard-gainer.

Be brave for once in your life, please. Accomplishing anything is not easy, and getting bigger or changing your body is no small feat. It takes time and dedication, a steadfast mindset. Create who you want to be, do not accept an image. You are who you want to be, and that is the final word on that. A majority of you all out there WILL have to work harder. A lot harder. This challenge is what we call living your life. You see something you want and so you do everything in your power to achieve it; you sweat you bleed, wake up at 6 o’clock in the morning just to get a meal in or to run 3 miles before work because you know you will not have time later.

Do not settle to simply exist, squander the life you have been given. You do not know your limits as we mentioned before… No one does for that matter and with this in mind go out and DO because you can. Because you want to, because somewhere down the line someone said you couldn’t. Make this testimony to yourself now, today, not tomorrow or the day after. This is the trap of simply existing on this Earth. Recognize that now if you are the kind of person who tries to take shortcuts every step of their lives.

There is a distinct reward to accomplishing your goals naturally. You know that every pound, every striation, every line of muscle that clings to your body was created by you and the struggle you have endured. And guess what you have ENDURED and you are that much stronger now. Both mentally and physically. Never think that just because something might be hard that you should take the cheap way out, this attitude will get you nowhere.

You are your own weapon. What will you do with yourself tomorrow?

For all those out there busting ass the natural way
The AITank Crew recognizes you

What is fighting what you ask? Antioxidants are trying to rid your body of excessive amounts of free radicals before they start a chain reaction. This chain reaction, if unchecked, could cause a buildup of free radicals, leaving your healthy cells and tissue at the risk of being prematurely oxidized.

Oxidation is cell death or in a worst case scenario a mutation. It occurs when a molecule in our body splits, leaving an atom with an unpaired electron. Bah I hate chemistry you say, well this is easy stuff to understand, and the effect is what we are seeking to understand. So now we have this rogue molecule wanting to steal electrons from other compounds… and well, it does. This electron stealing mayhem is oxidation, and the compound that was robbed then itself becomes a free radical. Now we see how this may be a problem so how do we stop it?

Well you will never and do not want to eliminate all free radicals from your body, actually your body makes its own to help it break down complex bonds within certain nutrients. These are ok, it is the unchecked radicals we seek to destroy and for this we need Antioxidants. Among the most prolific are:

• Vitamin A (sweet potato, carrot, kal, mango, spinach, papaya, milk)
• Carotenes (broccoli, carrots, spinach, squash, apricots)
• Vitamin C (red and green peppers, broccoli, strawberries, tomato, cabbage)
• Vitamin E (wheat germ, almonds, sunflower seeds, peanut butter, broccoli)
• Glutathione aka GSH
• Alpha-Lipoic-Acid
• Coenzyme Q10 or CoQ10 (oily fish like mackare, chicken, whole grains)

Glutathione does not have any sources listed as it rapidly synthesized in the liver and kidneys and oral supplementation has been shown to have no increase on blood glutathione levels. What we can do though is help our bodies to produce GSH by providing nutritional compounds required for its synthesis. Vitamin C supplementation has been shown to increase blood GSH levels by nearly 50% and R-Alpha Lipoic Acid has also been shown as a powerful precursor to GSH synthesis. What is so special about Glutathione? It detoxifies poisons in the body that can destroy white blood cells and in turn damage our liver. Research has shown that when people get sick, and their GSH levels drop, they get sicker, so we want to do what we can to keep Glutatione levels at their peak.

Alpha Lipoic Acid is one of the most powerful antioxidants we know of. It increases the rate of almost all nutrient absorbtion in our bodies and destroys free radicals like nobody’s business. The R isomer version is the one that is biologically available and found in our bodies. Research at the University of Wyoming shows that R-ALA supplementation has a very positive effect on weight loss by modulating the bodies fat deposition processes. It also strongly mimics insulin, making our bodies much more effective at dealing with fluctuating blood glucose levels. Simply, its bad ass. 100 to 300 mg a day is great as a supplement. It does nothing but keep you healthy and has no known side effects or toxic levels. But like anything else, over supplementing will not do you any good so stay in the range specified above. Before starting to take anything, consult with your physician just to be sure you will not have any specific interactions.

So we have learned that antioxidants eat free radicals for lunch, and work to keep us as healthy as can be. Optimizing our bodies function and efficiency as well, so until next time, stack the fruits and veggies and stay healthy. Avoid overpriced antioxidant drinks like xangosteen (they do not have any secret antioxidants)… Just eat dark fruits and veggies.