Cissus Quadrangularis no longer gives a false positive in drugs tests

A few years ago I wrote about the plant Cissus Quadrangularis (Click here for that write-up).  Last weekend I decided to check up on where we stood with the plant.  So I contacted the UK branch of WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) & got the reply that it now does not give a false positive.  This is great news, but it will probably still be worth checking with your own federation you compete in & probably your own regional WADA office as I'm not sure how recent this is nor how long it will take any updated tests to filter through the system.  I obtained the information from Sarah Foxton at ukad.org.uk (United Kingdom Anti Doping) & I'm not sure if it's the same worldwide, so check first!  Also bear in mind with any supplement the risk of cross contamination is always possible.
I suppose I should take the time to check if there is any update on the research on cissus q as I kind of lost interest when I found out you couldn't compete while using it.
Just thought you'd like an update as this is quite a useful supplement.

Losing fat & training:sucking it up

 This could be real 'training life' saver - a way to squat!

 

Here is a little training update - Today I actually measured my waist (Oh yea! Feeling that bodybuilding pump dudes - actually I was measuring someone else & it came up :-).  I am at 29 inches around the waist, which is down by around a 1 & a half inches.  I did zero cardio, so you want the secret?....ok here's what I have been doing.  Basically I filled my plate with huge amounts of mashed potato (mashed with a whole avocado, a little soya milk & some raw spring onion mixed in - also a protein source & veggies), besides that I've been having a whole coconut every day or two (& of course all my other meals).  Just ignore the fact I'm an outlier & high fat &/or high carbs ramps up my metabolism to a ridiculous degree.  I can up my calorie intake & I can lose fat.  Sure my weight stays the same, or goes up a little, but I can eat a lot more & lose fat.  So, to be honest my 'eating system' would make 99% of you dough-boys...I was honestly not bothered about fat levels, actually the opposite.  I've been focussed more on trying to get my head around my limitations & 'sucky' exercises.
Today I found a way to squat!  That may not sound like a lot to you, but at the moment I fighting against some functional scoliosis - that is a muscular imbalance that pulls the spine over, it is not the permanent kind, but something you get if your back muscles get REALLY jacked up - I've had it on & off for a couple of years now.  I have tried a few therapies to sort it out, but basically it is finding that 'key' that will balance out the issues & things will get back on track (I can go into this more if you like, but we'll leave it there for now).  I think a lot of the reason the issue has lasted this long is that you need to do a load of 'sucky' exercises to help fix it.  I'll be frank, in training terms I am a 'meat & potatoes' type of trainee.  Give me squat, deadlift, bench, shoulder press, row & chin & I'll be happy.  Alternatively give me planks, side planks, shoulder bridges & endless stretching & I am unhappy.  That is just the way it is with me, so I have not been 100% happy going to the gym to hit a load of planks for time, then stretching out like a yoga guru.  At times the mood hits me I will 'just test out' something heavy & be back to square one, so today I decided I really had to get this fixed by 2013 so I can go for goals of seriously increasing my deadlift & possibly trying out Olympic weightlifting before the joints get too worn to consider it.  So, I have been playing around with versions I might like better of these exercises.  I have been doing planks in all four directions off of a bench (I hook my feet under a squat rack safety bar set at the correct height & do timed holds facing directly upwards, facing directly downwards, to each side & I experimented at also doing them with the body at 45 degrees, so think facing 10 O'clock, 2 O'clock, 4 O'clock, 7 O'clock, those were tough I had to learn how to support my weight at the unusual angles, I barely managed 30 seconds the first go), so I've got those to work with.  I'm going to include more things like ab roll-outs as those are kind of interesting, maybe work up to standing as at the moment I am on the knees.  As I mentioned earlier (see picture at the top) I also found a way to squat.  I own an ironmind squat squat hip belt which is an awesome tool, but the only way I've found to use it is to drag two benches together & use a loading pin in a rack, it's also tough getting up on the benches with the necessary weight (for a guy with back issues this causes REAL issues), today I experimented using bands & a jumpstretch platform, using this method doesn't involve climbing with weights around your waist onto a pair of benches, I did get stuck at the bottom as I underestimated the strength of the bands a little, but once I had that sorted I could do it ok.  Sure, the 'weight' ('tension' if you want to be more accurate) is a little light at the bottom, but the top it is tough & zero back involvement, also lightening up at the bottom is kind of good for now as I have issues towards the bottom, so I can live with that for now.  I will still keep trying out various weighted versions on the belt & see if I can get a floor based version that works, if I do that will be included in a month or so.  I'm also practising the position at the bottom of the snatch (a snatch squat stance with a stick for timed holds at various heights) & once I get better at those I'll begin including a 'snatch squat press' (think of being at the bottom of a weightlifting squat - rock bottom - then using a snatch grip pressing a very light bar overhead.  Again this will NOT be for strength, but kept light so you are doing what would be a form of dynamic stretching.  That won't be for a while yet. 

For the stretching I'm honestly still not sure of the best way to go?  Maybe I'll have to buy a yoga video or something?  I hate stretching, it's slow, it's dull, you don't lift big metal stuff..it's really no fun for me, but it needs to get done.  I suppose 'sucking it up' is all about that.  Lifting heavy isn't so much about sucking it up if you want to do it, but stretching is all about it to me as I really loathe it & so I really do not do enough of it (or sometimes ANY of it!).

So, my training hasn't been heavy or consistent enough, but that will change from today (well the consistency, the heavy will have to wait a few more months).  I will be hitting things very regularly, until the end of the year.  It won't really be heavy weight training for a while yet.  I need to get the all-clear on the back before I can even consider a bar on the back or heavy overhead work, but stuff like inverted rows (Australian pull-ups to some of you), bodyweight pull-ups are ok, but weights around the waist causes too much traction & can cause issues, but I may test out a weight vest later in the year, that might just be ok as the traction moves from waist focus (which is bad for me right now) to shoulder traction (which is fine), I can also do push-ups, bench press (without an arch), ab work (flexion style) will be there as well as even with a bad back (no offence to Dr McGill here) flexion seems to be good for my back in moderation.  I've not got anything like a programme right now, nor really a progression pattern, which is very unusual for me, I'm still trying to figure out exactly what works & what doesn't, so this is an ongoing experiment.  I am really hoping the experience will make me better at coaching others & it certainly has given me a better perspective on people when they say they hate doing stuff.  The answer isn't always "I hate doing stuff, so do something else", sometimes the answer is "suck it up".   If you have a goal & that goal involves  doing a small part of 'sucky stuff' to reach the 'good stuff', then you either forget the goal or wade through that sucky mess you hate & drag yourself towards that good stuff on the horizon!  So, my answer to that has actually changed, like Captain Kirk, I always thought you could avoid the decisions you wanted to avoid (star trek reference!), but sometimes you have to take the hard, long windy route to get to your goals & this is one of those times.  My goals will hopefully be met in 2013, but from now until then I have a serious battle to fight.  If I truly want to make those goals I have to strip off & wade through the 'mess' of stretching daily (or several times daily), doing boring timed holds, grasp the brief pleasure with the band squats & a very few other selected exercises that will be my 'bread & butter' for a few months (I'm using a lot of very un-vegan references on this today, sorry!).  So I'll be 'sucking it up' for those months, but even after that I think I'll have to change to include a lot more of these things to keep myself healthy as I push towards a three times bodyweight deadlift & possibly an experiment with some Olympic style weightlifting (assuming I ever find a coach in the area that's any good & not just some guy who did a weekend course & got a 'cert' to teach O-lifting...really?...oh yea, there are a load of them out there!).

I thought you might be interested in what was going on as I've been kind of quiet of late about my actual goals & thought this might help you if you are going through issues of some kind.  Hopefully we can all work towards a 2013 that will give us awesome results!  So, if you know you have been avoiding stuff you should be doing, let's all get down doing the stuff that needs to get done.  Time to suck it up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

REVIEW: Sportique range of bodycare products

Every now & again you come across a product you never even knew existed before.  Long time readers will know that we have been fans of v-pure a DHA/EPA pill made from algae (NOT from fish - in fact the fish eat this algae to get the oil in the first place).  Anyway, a company called nuique have taken over distributing v-pure & this company also do the sportique range of body care products.
Anyway, to cut a long story short I looked about on their site & found that they had some 'weird stuff', stuff I'd never heard of like 'Warming up cream', so I thought to myself "What the hell is warming up cream & why would I need it?  I warm up- hell before I workout these days I foam roll, stretch, then do activation/mobility before I even touch a weight!"  So, as I had some contact with the people producing v-pure I decided to see what the whole deal was?
It turns out that nuique make a whole range of creams & oils that are suitable for vegans & all barre one is suitable for drug-tested athletes (the 'Get Going – Warming Up Cream' contains geranium which can give a false positive in a drugs test- thanks to Pat from the BDFPA for pointing that one out).  So, I got a few different products to try out & I will go through all the one's I have tried.  I will have to get a non-drug tested athlete to test out the 'Get Going – Warming Up Cream' as I can't test that one myself.  Although I haven't got a review of that product yet, I have been able to review several of the products that I thought would be directly related to anyone interested in training or exercise of any sort.

Warming up cream

This was the first one I tested.  I have used chilli style creams before, but never really thought of them as a pre-workout product.  In the past I have used them to aid muscle soreness & recovery.  This cream does all that.  In fact if you want to REALLY heat an area I accidentally discovered the benefit of applying warming up cream to yourself then going to bed on an electric blanket - talk about warming!  By the next day my muscle soreness was totally gone, but it was a weird feeling as it felt pretty hot!  One thing I found about this is that it is a slow building heat.  As I said I've used other chilli based warming products before & this one acts more slowly than some I've tried before, so do not make the mistake of my partner & slap on another layer or two, it will work, just not as fast as you expect.  Now let's talk about what it is named  after warming-up, I'd never thought to use anything like this as part of my warm-up.  So, anyway, during this recent cold weather I've been slapping it on & then starting my warm-up & by the time I'm ready to hit the weights I can feel the very first hints of warming on the joints.  For me I used it where it was needed so if I was doing a lower body session, the knees got some & the hips, if I was really going to hammer the upper body, then it would be applied to elbows, shoulders & if necessary wrists got a rub of the cream. Using it as a pre-work out warm-up cream I didn't use it on pecs, or much of the upper back (I did use it on the lower back-especially before a squat or deadlift session).  I actually found it pretty good - this could all be in my head, but the muscles & especially the joints feeling warm, made the workout really go well.  I wasn't on my first set thinking, "Hell, that joint still doesn't feel ready", the blood was there!  I have only used this in colder weather so far.  I will give it a go as temperatures go up, but I'm betting that it works a lot better in the colder weather as a pre-workout muscles & especially joint warmer.
This product does have another use.  I found it useful for muscle soreness, DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness - also called PEMS by some people), tired achy muscles & some forms of joint issues (I'm thinking the more arthritic type of joint pain); some over-use injuries are actually better served by another of their products in my view the 'Cooling cream'.

Cooling cream

This is about the opposite of the 'warming up cream".  It does what it says on the packet really.  It cools an area down.  If you suffer from overuse issues, sprains etc, the quick application of a cooling product can help.  If you use ice, for some areas applying this after your ice treatment can improve the effect I've found.  My partner also used it on some localised swelling when she wore stupid shoes, it worked wonders with the swelling vanishing really quickly (obviously I can't guarantee it will work on every type of swelling & any cuts should be avoided as should any personal or delicate places - that goes for the warming-up cream as well).  I use this less often than the warming up cream myself, but if you suffer from overuse issues, or related issues then this could become your good friend!  Also as the temperature goes up I might actually find myself using this a bit more after training on those tired out muscles, but we'll have to wait for some warm weather to test that one out!

Foot gel

This is supposed to be anti-fungal & anti-bacterial, but as I am fungus-free & my feet do not smell too bad (which implies not too many stinky bacteria), but sometimes I am on my feet for some time & so having a foot cream is ace.  It is supposed to be 'calming of the nerves', I can't vouch for that, but I can say that especially if you have someone to apply this cream for you, it is an ace way to renew those tired old feet.  I actually found that it works two ways. 1/ It relaxes tired feet, but 2/ If you come home after a long day, but need to go out in the evening, it can actually energise those feet & let you go out for an evening so you can dance, walk or generally have a good time on newly refreshed feet.

Warming up oil

I must confess I haven't used this one pre-workout even though it's a warming-up oil.  One of my hats is I'm a massage therapist & I have used it to massage a few people.  The oil has a nice texture & you will need to use less than you expect when you massage (either yourself or others). It is a warming oil, so it can be used on the joints of arthritic clients & the warming effect & increased blood supply can be very beneficial.  It can also be used by athletes to aid recovery as increased site specific blood flow does appear to aid recovery (that's personal, anecdotal evidence I haven't actually researched that, it just seems to be the case).  Also for really tired people this will really knock them out if you give them a softer massage.  They will often fall asleep on the couch or make it home & really sleep soundly with the benefit of the massage & the warming oil.  I wouldn't use this & gentle massage if you've had a long day & plan to go out, but if you have specific arthritic or muscular pain areas, then rubbing some on before you go out could help relieve the pain enough to enjoy the evening (just remember to wash your hands well as there is few things worse than rubbing chilli into your eyes or if male using the bathroom & getting chilli where you REALLY don't want it!)

There were some things that looked really good, but have bee products in, so they are ok for vegetarians but not us vegans.  They are all obvious as they have stuff like beeswax in them, so a quick read will tell you if they are ok for you to use.  I have got some 'Get Going – Warming Up Cream', but the review on that will have to wait until I can find a non-drug tested athlete to give it a go.  But those are the products I've tried so far - I'm guessing it is going to be similar to the warming-up cream?  There are a whole load of things in the sportique range from aftershave balm to deodorant so it is certainly worth checking out if you are after any body care products, as I said a few aren't vegan, so check the ingredient (& if you would like the look of a product, but it isn't vegan then let them know, if they get enough communication they may well be able to reformulate if the demand is there?).  The stuff I have tried though I definitely like & I have found with the warming up cream a new way to improve my warm up especially on colder days & the cooling product seems ace for swelling, sprains & overuse issues where cooling down is the best approach.

For the full sportique range of body care check them out here

Xmas Back Injury 2010

This is a very personal post about my Christmas injury.  On the 27^th December I bent over & suffered a bad back trauma.  This was the second time in as many months I’d suffered an injury to the back.

I began digging into the research & resources all about back issues, the causes of back pain & possible corrections for my condition (NOTE: I’m not a medical professional.  I am a qualified massage therapist & personal trainer, so any actions I use to correct my perceived issues may not be suitable for you.  Always run any exercise program past your medical adviser before you use them).

First off I discovered an interesting fact.  In an acute injury, the injury often recovers at the same rate whatever protocol you use.  That is whether you go to a chiropractor, an acupuncturist, or just use pain killers & bed rest; many acute injuries (one’s that clear up quickly) tend to take the same amount of time to recover whatever you do.  So, the person who said to you “Wow! I went to this person & I was better within 2 weeks!” is just as likely to have improved at the same rate with no intervention at all!  You can get pain relief by using other protocols, but not improved healing on an acute injury.  Chronic injuries are different (injuries lasting 3 months or more), these do seem to be affected by manipulation, possibly acupuncture & several other protocols. 

The real issue with an acute back injury is what you do after recovery as re-injury is much more common if you do nothing.  So, what are the issues that arise in acute back injury - that is a back injury where the pain goes within a few weeks- we are NOT talking about chronic back injury here.  Although some of the advice below may help a chronic back sufferer, see an expert & run it by them as some conditions can be made worse by inappropriate exercise.  First off are the multifidus muscles that run up the spine.  There is some speculation (with research to back it up...but not absolute proof) that these muscles can be oddly affected by injury.  In the area of an injury the fast twitch muscle fibres of the multifidus appear to shrink (the fast twitch muscles are the ones that react quickly & strongly to any change), the muscle also begins to get hyper-stimulated & so are more activated than they need to be (again ONLY in the area of the injury).

For those who don’t know what the multifidus muscles are.  They are a whole group of muscles that run up each side of the spine, they kind of grip one vertebrae to another all the way from the top to the bottom (sometimes they cross two or more vertebrae).  They are one of the main groups of muscles that facilitate spinal movement.  You can only really feel them down by your waistline (& a little above), they are bands of muscle each side of the spine, but as they go up other muscles sit on top of them, so you cannot feel them directly anymore.  So think about it, if these guys are ‘gluing’ your spine together & helping to support the skeletal frame & they only cross one or two vertebrae, then what happens when one gets injured, shrinks & get’s hyper-stimulated?  It will be pulling inappropriately when it doesn’t need to & it will not be able to react to a sudden movement like bending over, twisting or even reacting to a sharp change in balance.  Also remember this will happen on ONE SIDE of your spine only, so what does the other side do, what do the structures immediately above & below do, what happens to the whole spinal support structure?  That depends really on where it is, how bad it is & what you actual do.  There is worse to come.  Apparently the multifidus muscle has this weird atrophy that shrinks the fast twist muscle & it does not appear to rebuild very easily without specific work, which is bad...but it CAN be rebuilt, which is VERY good news!

As well as the multifidus you have to look at the other muscles of the body.  So, checking out glute & hamstring strength (especially left to right asymmetries), hip flexor tightness, adductor tightness, internal-external hip rotation, quadratus lumborum (QL) tightness (again left to right differences can be common here).

In my own case I found the following:

•          Tight right QL

•          Weak right glute

•          Weak right Hamstring

•          Some anterior pelvic tilt

•          Some multifidus asymmetries (my bird dog had gone to pot)

So, that’s what I found when I was able to test myself after the second incident.  I believe the first back issue (caused by a poor deadlift) actually caused some multifidus issues, but prior to that I had been developing some left to right asymmetries for some time, pushing much more on the left side than the right.  This was mainly due (I believe) to some nerve damage I have on my right big toe that makes balance a little harder that side & so the body is shying away from fully committing to that side during the big lifts?

So what exactly happened on the 27^th December?

OK I will bare all (literally) in these pictures below.

 

In both pictures I am attempting to stand up straight without flexing.  The pictures are taken on the morning of the 28th Dec & the 2nd Jan. Within 6 days I am back to near symmetry!

Here’s what are you seeing on the 27^th December photo?  The right hip is being raised by an ultra tight QL, you can’t see this so clearly, but the spine is completely flattened when seen from the side (no I’m not putting up side shoots as I was naked!  You’ll just have to trust me), the lower spine lost all extension all the spine looked completely flat when seen from the side top to bottom.  The spine took on a scoliosis-like look as it literally appeared to snake up my back, the left shoulder & scapula are raised.  The glutes ‘disappeared’ (again seen better from the side, but I think you can see this well enough here).  The whole back lost any muscle tone, the lats switched off as well – this is the first time I’ve actually witnessed muscles being visibly inhibited & structure being visibly altered in such a drastic way through one injury that took mere days to right itself.  For comparison I’ll put the 2^nd Jan photo up, so 6 days later I was nearing total symmetry again, the back has regained its natural curvature & the scoliosis-like effect is gone, the glutes are back, the scapulae & shoulders are near level.

So, everything’s ok, right?....WRONG!

I put myself through a pretty extensive screening once I was able to move correctly.  I found my ability to do a bird-dog on one side had become problematic (that may be a multifidus issues), the weak glutes & hamstring on the right, tight right hand side QL, some anterior pelvic tilt, limited internal hip rotation (worse on the right), tight adductors on the right, I’d also developed a tendency to ‘tail tuck’ at the bottom of even a bodyweight squat.  Obviously I have a lot of work ahead of me!  Looking at the issues it becomes clear that I’ve been developing these issues for some time & only now are the ‘symptoms’ starting to show.  So, this probably isn’t going to be an overnight fix.  So, what are my plans?

Well first off I bought an inversion table.  It seems like that will help with the immediate symptoms while I try & deal with the ongoing problems & hopefully aid in warding off another back issue while I work on the problem. 

 

Enjoying a first go on the inversion table (there's 

even the box it came came still in the background)

Next up I began a rehab protocol, that consisted of:

•          Plank

•          Side plank

•          Bird-dog

•          Hip Hiker (standing on a step & raising & lowering the hip)

•          Internal & external hip rotation (you do external hip rotation as tight external rotators can sometimes stop a hip internally rotating)

•          Glute bridging

•          Bodyweight squat (working on keeping the form super tight)        

•          Hip adduction

•          Hip abduction

•         Leg curl on stability ball

•     Self myofascial release on the back, glutes, hamstrings & hip flexors (try using a tennis ball down the back.  Start with the ball at the top to one side of the spine, arms by the side, raise the arms first above your head, then across the body, wiggle a little.  Now move the ball down a cm & repeat – do that down both sides of the spine to experience some real pain!).  Check out a quick guide I did on self myofascial release (SMR) at pdf version (right click & 'save as') or MS Word version (right click & 'save as') for  some details on how to do simple SMR.

That along with the inversion was the foundation of the rehab, but as things move along I will start to introduce some unilateral lifting (like split squats, suitcase lifts, one arm overhead pressing etc).  Why unilateral? Well think about it, I have a left to right imbalance, if I just ‘work harder’ on the bi-lateral squat or deadlift for example I’ll just reinforce the improper movement dysfunctions I’ve already developed.  I have to learn to strengthen both the left & right hand sides on their own, until the right can learn to ‘keep up’ with the left.  I suspect that due to the nerve damage in the right big toe that I may need to revisit unilateral lifting a few times a year to make sure everything stays in balance.

I’ve suffered a setback, that is very true.  I’ve had to re-evaluate my goals, set some things I had planned for 2011 onto the back burner for this year...but, I’ve found an issue, I have found a weakness, which begs the question “If I fix the weakness, how strong will I get?”.  If I fix myself right will 2012 be a really record year for lifting & gains?  How much have I been held back by being imbalanced?  These are exciting questions that I hope to answer over 2011.  Let’s hope I can rebuild a more symmetrical strength that translates into much better lifting & much better results.  That’s my goal for 2011.  I don’t want to just get back to where I was before the whole ‘back issue’ started, I’d like to soar beyond it, using the new knowledge I have discovered about myself to really improve beyond what I would have been able to if this issue hadn’t come up.

If there is sufficient interest I don’t mind putting up stills or even short youtube clips about my rehab adventure, let me know below if you’d be interested in following the adventure?  But do bear in mind, this is NOT a prescription for back injury recovery.  I am not a doctor, nor am I qualified to diagnose.  If you intend to incorporate any exercise or rehabilitation protocol (even chiropractic work or acupuncture etc) then always run it past your back specialist first as each condition is unique & each person is slightly different, so always check first & even if you get the go ahead NEVER work into pain.   You cannot beat a bad back into submission, it will always have the last say if you try to go head to head in a ‘suffering contest’.  So, be sensible, take things slow, & aim at slowly returning to full physical function (or as ‘full’ as your condition allows).  Any questions, ideas or anything else just write below.

Finally this was a pretty hard post to write.  Baring your all (in the case of some of these photos it was pretty damn close!) & confessing your own mistakes is quite a hard thing to put up online & let the world read.  Hopefully you’ll all take some time & not just post a comment, but to check your own bodies out, fix any asymmetries or other issues before a problem rears its ugly head & puts you onto the sidelines for a while.  Prehab should be an issue every athlete or lifter takes seriously.  Hopefully I’ll be taking a lot more care of the ‘little things’ from now on as by doing that I can keep lifting & hopefully still keep making gains for many years yet!