06-22-12 01:25 PM - Post#737679    

Hey guys, it seems like no one else has posted this here yet... How I Really Train

I just read it myself and wanted to make sure others knew it existed.

Cheers,
Josh

Re: New Dan John Article on T-Nation (posted 6/07/12)
08-30-12 04:08 PM - Post#744894    

I like Dan John's articles, but it has always seemed odd to me that they are on T Nation. Dan is all about simplicity, less is more, and putting in proper work. t nation is all about gimmicky supplements, extremely complex workout plans, and spending 100s if not 1000s a month on supplements. whenever i read a dan john article, i feel reinvigorated. new possibilities, new angles on ways of considering my workout routines. whenever i read a t nation article, i feel like my progress is slipping because i'm not ingesting casein hydrosylate, citrulline malate, and leucine peptides in an anabolic bolus 3x daily before the python peri-workout insulino-surge. dan john is all about working with what you have, t nation is all about convincing you that you need something that you don't (have or need). there are good writers on t nation, and dan is one of them, but it definitely feels like he's out of place there. a man of honor in a den of thieves, to quote firefly. and no, with the hype surrounding the anaconda protocol, this is NOT an unfair metaphor.

a few specific things in the article I take issue with:
* Phenibut, an ingredient in Biotest's Z12, is a synthetic GABA modification which seems to have little research behind it. In fact, other than a few articles that mention research in obscure journals not indexed on pubmed, I can find almost zero data on it-- and none of it on humans. Its long-term safety is questionable. I don't know how this stuff is DSHEA compliant. Promoting Z12 as a way to ensure a healthy sleep, as Biotest does, is irresponsible.
* There is no such thing as "ZMA dreams." Vitamin B6 does have an effect on dreaming, and this has been known in orthomolecular medicine for decades. Victor Conte did not invent zinc and magnesium supplementation, merely the outrageous prices for them.

08-30-12 04:33 PM - Post#744901    

Well, I take them and I like them. As I usually point out: this is what I do. I experiment with things, try things out and move along if I don't like them.

On the "ZMA Dreams" thing, it really seems to happen with me and the people I talk to. Whether is BS or not, you put me in that hard position that is "Well, I get better dreams." I can't defend or prove it, but I will continue to take both.

Jon Berardi told me to ween myself off of Z-12 and move in some other directions and I am taking his advice.

Daniel John Just handing down what I was handed down... Make a Difference. Live. Love. Laugh. Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude) Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk. Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth. Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights. Reread great books. Say thank you

08-30-12 06:39 PM - Post#744911    

I am not saying the difference in dreaming is not real; I am merely saying it is an effect of the B6 in the ZMA. guys talk about ZMA's effect on dreaming like it is an effect of ZMA alone, further building up its magical reputation. I take zinc and magnesium but get them much, much cheaper than ZMA.

I just think it's weird that t nation has your articles, extolling good old-fashioned hard work and rest, then they have Christian Thibideau writing another puff piece about how Anaconda helps you pack on more muscle than anabolic steroids. a strange juxtaposition.

08-30-12 09:04 PM - Post#744928    

There is a bit of research on Phenibut in the Russian literature, as it is used medicinally in that country. I bought a bottle of it when Patrick Arnold released it about ten years ago. The morning after my first dose I woke to find the world transformed. It was like seeing in color for the first time, just a gorgeous visual experience. That never happened again, and there was a terrible hangover type effect when I stopped taking it. I read later that tolerance builds very quickly. The GABA receptors downregulate and never get quick back to normal, at least in my experience. It was like a low grade depression that lasted for months. I'll never go near this stuff again, but I'll never forget the first morning after effect either.

Work does things. Hard things take time to do. Impossible things take a little longer. -Percy Cerutty