Ian King

Nutritional supplements and strength training: Part 3 – Who do you trust?

/by

We have a growing consumer awareness of food selection. The interest in organic foods is growing[i], the demand for fast food declining.[ii] So why is the awareness of the inherent challenges in nutritional supplement consumption so low? Why are you – and the majority of people – willing to do what everyone else is doing in the blind faith and trust that the supplement has what the label says it has, and does not contain any toxic or otherwise unhealthy material?

Let me summarize it this way – as long as ‘everyone’ is currently using it, the packaging looks great, and the nutritional labeling appears to be stacked full of what you were looking for, it’s good to go! Take the supplement, no further questions needed.

This may seem a bit too blasé in text, however tell me if this isn’t an accurate description of how the majority think. I suggest it is.

And what categories of nutritional supplement are the most exposed to ‘challenges’? According to a 2015 statement by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

“They’re most common in weight loss supplements, products that promise to boost sexual performance, and bodybuilding products, [FDA spokesperson Lyndsay] Meyer Meyer said”.[iii]

How real is the problem? According to a 2015 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, an estimated 23,000 emergency department visits in the United States every year are attributed to adverse events related to dietary supplements. Note that the categories of supplements where the greatest risks were was similar to those quoted by the FDA spokesperson (see Table).[iv]

So where specifically do the risks lie? Here are

  1. Manufacturing standards
  2. Misleading products and product claims
  3. The sale of illegal supplements
  4. Supplements containing drugs
  5. Raw material selection and contamination
  6. Truth in labeling
  7. Outsourcing manufacturing
  8. All of the above

The following provides further insights into each of these seven areas of risk.

 1.  Manufacturing standards

The manufacturing of nutritional supplements in the US has been described as ‘lightly regulated’.

Yet these pills undergo limited scrutiny by regulators. The FDA treats them like food — not like drugs — under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994. Supplement manufacturers can put a wide variety of claims on their bottles, so long as there’s at least some research to back them up and so long as they’re honest about their ingredients. There’s no requirement for manufacturers to specify the quantity of ingredients or to warn consumers about potential side effects. What’s more, there are no regulators checking to make sure these manufacturers are telling the truth about what’s in their products before they hit store shelves.

To remove a supplement from the market, the FDA first has to prove that it’s not safe — which is what happened in the case of OxyElite Pro. This is basically the opposite of how pharmaceuticals are regulated. There, drugmakers need to prove their medicines are safe and effective through high-quality scientific studies before they ever reach consumers.[v]

Put simply, unlike pharmaceutical drug manufacturing, the FDA does not have premarket approval on supplements. Instead they have post-market oversight on supplements. They have to monitor the landscape and prove issues exist. This opens the door for a ‘it’s easier to seek forgiveness than to get approval’ approach, and you, the consumer, are in the middle of this mess.

The limitations of this lower standard of manufacturing compared to drugs is highlighted by the following:

The passing of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act in 1994 permitted dietary supplement manufacturers to bring to market products labeled as supplements without the scrutiny required of pharmaceuticals. 

This lack of oversight has permitted the introduction of numerous supplement products, often containing unapproved active pharmaceutical ingredients, into the marketplace, which has led to harm, as was exemplified by the use of the supplement Pai You Guo.7

In these situations, it is incumbent on the FDA to contact the manufacturer of the supplement to trace the source of the product, and initiate a recall. However, a recent investigation by the Office of the Inspector General determined that the FDA does not possess accurate contact information for 20% of supplement manufacturers.8 This may explain why our study found a large discrepancy between the number of adulterated supplements reported by the FDA and the number that were actually recalled. .[vi]

As a result, this is what is often seen, as reported by Dr. Daniel Fabricant, who heads the FDA’s division of Dietary Supplement Programs:

Sixteen nationwide recalls and warnings have been issued in the past month and a half, including vitamins manufactured by Mira, which contained the risky steroids dimethazine, dimethyltestosterone and methasterone. More than 3,000 products were recalled nationwide last year.

Written product recipes at numerous supplement companies are nonexistent, Fabricant said, and many recipes — known as master manufacturing records — are apparently cobbled together when owners learn that government inspectors are on their way.

Worse, drums in which products are mixed are not always appropriately cleaned, Fabricant added, and in some firms these vessels are pitted — damaged — possibly from age and/or overuse. 

Debris left from previous batches sometimes winds up in newly made products, he said.

Too often, dangerous drugs of all kinds — from male sexual enhancement compounds to weight-loss medications — are turning up in vitamins and other supplements nationwide. [vii]

2.  Misleading products and product claims

The supplement history has a long history of deceit.

In 1989 Nautilus founder Arthur Jones was quoted as saying:

“I am not a bullshit artist, and under no circumstances am I going to get involved in the so-called health food market, which is one vast con game.”[1]

Arthur Jones tells a great story in his 2004 autobiography titled ‘And God Laughs’[2] about a veterinarian who was pestering him about the secret to the success of the 1973 Colorado Experiment, where Casey Viator allegedly put on an incredible amount of muscle mass in only four weeks. Jones tells him ‘the secret’, which reminds me a lot of my chapter titled ‘Colates’ from my 2010 book Barbells and Bullshit. Jones went on to write:

But if I had ever published that elephant shit story as fact in a muscle magazine, the bodybuilders would buy it by the ton, at any price; and the worse it tasted the better they would like it. I also told that veterinarian that the elephant shit always made you very sick, but he assured me that he was more than willing to put up with that.

And if I had published that story as fact, within a few weeks Weider would have been offering what he would have claimed was the only source of pure elephant shit.

US Government regulatory action against false claims in the supplement industry can be traced back at least to the 1960s (and probably earlier), when Peary Rader (Ironman Magazine), Bob Hoffman (York Barbell) and then the Weiders (1970s) were all targets of the US Food and Drug Administration.[3]

It appears not much has changed in the near half a century since.

According to the 2010 article explaining labeling and product claims in the US supplement market:

“….The impact and consequences of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA)… Briefly, the DSHEA is an amendment to the U.S. Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act that establishes a regulatory framework for dietary supplements. It effectively excludes manufacturers of these products from virtually all regulations that are in place for prescription and over-the-counter drugs.”[viii]

According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) themselves:

“Generally, manufacturers do not need to register their products with FDA nor get FDA approval before producing or selling dietary supplements. Manufacturers must make sure that product label information is truthful and not misleading. FDA’s post-marketing responsibilities include monitoring safety, e.g. voluntary dietary supplement adverse event reporting, and product information, such as labeling, claims, package inserts, and accompanying literature. The Federal Trade Commission regulates dietary supplement advertising.”[ix]

Basically say what you want and unless someone complains or by some other less likely situation the FDA finds out you are ‘embellishing’ at best, downright lying at worst.

Manufacturers can put virtually any claim on a supplement, without any requirement to provide persuasive clinical evidence, as long as it’s accompanied by the Quack Miranda Warning: “These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.” Disease treatment claims are not permitted, but are typically restated as permissible “structure/function” claims, implying an ability to improve the structure or function of the body only….

There are essentially no pre-marketing requirements before selling products. Once available for sale, there is little ability for the FDA to issue cease-sale orders and recalls. Regulators can block the sale of products only after significant problems have been identified (i.e., ephedra)… 

The regulation of marketing claims is effectively left to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which can prosecute manufacturers for fraud.” [x]

In 2015 a sweeping multi-agency federal investigation in the US has resulted in a slew of criminal and civil charges being brought against more than 100 companies that either make or market supposed dietary supplements for selling products that allegedly contain ingredients other than those listed on the label, or products that make unsubstantiated health or disease-treatment claims.[xi]

The Justice Department unsealed a criminal indictment against USPlabs of Dallas and a number of the company’s executives and employees. It charges, among other things, that they conspired to import a synthetic stimulant made in a Chinese chemical factory and then used it in products they advertised as containing all-natural plant extracts.

The indictment also alleges that USPlabs knew some of their products could cause liver damage, yet sold them anyway — in particular, a product called OxyElite Pro.[xii]

At the center of the sweep is USPlabs, a company based in Dallas that sold the best-selling workout supplements Jack3d and OxyElite Pro, which contains the amphetamine-like stimulant dimethylamylamine, or DMAA. On Tuesday, federal prosecutors brought criminal charges against USPlabs and six of its executives related to the sale of those products.[xiii]

The United States filed a civil complaint against Riddhi USA Inc. of Ronkonkoma, New York, and its owner and President Mohd M. Alam to prevent the distribution of adulterated and misbranded dietary supplements in violation of federal law, the Department of Justice announced today.[xiv]

3.  The sale of illegal supplements

As there is no pre-marketing requirements before selling the products, there is a pattern of companies taking even illegal substances to the market, in the hope that they would be caught.

The following is an example of a large distributor being exposed for allegedly selling illegal supplements. Most of us have shopped here:

GNC Holdings Inc, the largest global dietary supplement retailer, has agreed to pay $2.25 million to avoid federal prosecution over its alleged sale of illegal dietary supplements, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Wednesday.[xv]

The following is an example of a smaller distributor being exposed for allegedly selling illegal supplements. The risks of mail order supplements!

Twelve years after FDA prohibited the sale of dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids (ephedra), a New York man has been found guilty of violating the ban.

Following a three-day trial, a jury in Atlanta convicted Chenhsin Chan (aka Paul Chan) on 30 felony counts in connection with the online sale of dietary supplements containing ephedrine, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced last week.

Chan of Elmhurst, New York was convicted on 10 counts of mail fraud, 10 counts of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce, five counts of knowingly distributing a listed chemical without obtaining the required registration, and five counts of money laundering.

The 44-year-old Chan sold more than US$4.5 million in dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids, but the jury forfeited assets he purchased with funds from the crimes, including a New York property that had been purchased for $950,000, a Mercedes Benz, a Lamborghini Gallardo and more than $666,000 in proceeds from the illegal activities, the DOJ noted in a press release.[xvi]

4.  Supplements containing drugs

In the ideal world when you buy and ingest a supplement you would hope there are no surprises in the contents, especially unknown drugs.

From January 1, 2004, through December 19, 2012, 465 drugs were subject to a class I recall in the United States. Just over one-half (237 [51%]) were classified as dietary supplements as opposed to pharmaceutical products (Table). Most recalls occurred after 2008 (210 [89%]). Supplements marketed as sexual enhancement products (95 [40%]) were the most commonly recalled dietary supplement product, followed by bodybuilding (73 [31%]) and weight loss products (64 [27%]). Unapproved drug ingredients (237) accounted for all recalls. Fifty-seven recalled products (24%) were manufactured outside of the United States. There were 147 recalls (62%) that involved units distributed internationally. No adverse events related to recalled drugs were noted in the Enforcement Reports.

The FDA Tainted Supplement Report listed 332 adulterated products since December 2007. Only 222 of these products (69%) were recalled by the FDA.[xvii]

Placing drugs in supplements, even if only for a short time, is a method that has been spoken about in the industry for decades. The rumor was this was a technique used by early supplement manufacturers post the arrival of steroids in the 1960’s to get early market traction with their product users who were of the impression they were simply buying a supplement product.

The following supports this story. There is some suggestion that manufacturers intentionally add the drugs:

A report in the Journal of the American Medical Association in April noted that potent drugs are sometimes purposely added to supplements to increase strength, usually weight loss remedies and sleep aids. [xviii]

Now if you are a drug tested athlete, or at least a drug tested athlete in a sport that does real and transparent testing, the risk of drugs in your supplements is an additional concern.

These risks are summarized in a 2017 paper as below:

An example of the presence of doping substances in supplements can be seen in the study published in 2003 by Geyer et al., where 94 of the 634 supplements analyzed (14.8%) had prohormones that were not mentioned on the label. More current is the study by Judkins et al. in which, of the 58 supplements analyzed, 25% contained low levels of contaminating steroids and 11% were contaminated with stimulants. These data have led to the investigation of contamination in different food supplements; in most of them, small quantities of banned substances have been found, due to cross-contamination during manufacturing, processing, or packaging. In some cases, this contamination was not intentional and was due to poor quality control, but in others the adulteration of the substance was intentional [10]. In the United States (US), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), broadly speaking, regulates quality, and the Federal Trade Commission supervises the marketing and advertising of dietary supplements. However, according to the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), dietary supplements, including nutritional ergogenic aids, that are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, currently do not need to be evaluated by the FDA prior to their commercialization.[xix]

In my experience very few athletes succeed in a defense of blaming their nutritional supplement for the positive whereby their sentence is reduced. Examples of these minority include:

  • In 2008 US swimmer Jessica Hardy failed a drug test (allegedly for the banned drug clenbuterol) and was banned for four years. When the arbitrators found that Jessica Hardy’s positive test was caused by a contaminated Advocare Arginine Extreme supplement her ban was reduced to one (1) year. Hardy subsequently took civil action against Advocare, and Advocare reciprocated in like way.[xx]
  • In 2003 US swimmer Kicker Vencill failed a drug test (allegedly for the banned drug 19-norandrosterone) and was banned for four (4) years. After appeal the arbitrators accepted the positive result was caused by an inadvertent ingestion and reduced his ban to two (2) years. Following that Vencill won a civil claim when a jury ruled unanimously that a multivitamin taken by Kicker Vencill was contaminated with steroid precursors and was responsible for his positive test. Jurors awarded damages of $578,635 against the manufacturer against Ultimate Nutrition of Farmington, Connecticut.[xxi]
  • Lyman Good, UFC fighter, was tested positive for steroids in October 2016, and blamed his use of a product called ‘Anavite’ made by Gaspari Nutrition and sold through Vitamin Shoppe. In Oct 2017 he sued the following: Vitamin Shoppe, Gaspari Nutrition Inc., Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals, Richard Gaspari and Gaspari and Hi-Tech CEO Jared Wheat are also named as defendants. According to his affidavit, his suspension was later reduced when a lab detected the steroid in an unopened bottle of Anavite.[xxii] [xxiii]

The following summary of drugs found in nutritional supplements was published in 2016 that lists 850 US supplements that allegedly contain drugs.

Now you can see if your favorite supplement has been flagged by health authorities. We used data from the FDA and the Department of Defense, as well as published studies from scientific journals and court documents, to create a searchable database of dangerous supplements. All of the products listed below have been found to contain hidden drugs.[xxiv]

Here are some of the categories of drugs found in these supplements in the above collation: [xxv]

Appetite suppressants – Hidden drugs found in supplements in our database: sibutramine and its analogs (deisobutyl-benzylsibutramine, desmethyl sibutramine, didesmthyl sibutramine, n-desmthylsibutramine, n-di-desmethylsibutramine), cetilistat, fenfluramine, lorcaserin, rimonabant.

The government removed sibutramine from the market in 2010 for safety reasons… Sibutramine was the most popular drug on our database: 240 products, mostly for weight loss, contained this drug or one of its derivatives.

Laxatives – Hidden drugs found in supplements in our database: phenolphthalein

Phenolphthalein is a laxative no longer approved for sale in the US… Sixty-six supplements in our database contained phenolphthalein, most of them marketed for weight loss.

Muscle relaxants – Hidden drugs found in supplements in our database: chlorzoxazone, methocarbamol

A number of supplements marketed as arthritis and joint pain relievers have been pulled from the market for containing illegal drugs.

Sexual enhancers – Hidden drugs found in supplements in our database: sildenafil, tadalafil, vardenafil, and their analogs (acetildenafil, aidenafil, aminotadalafil, benzamidenafil, dapoxetine, desmethyl carbondenafil, dimethyl sildenafil, dimethylacetildenafil, dimethylsildenafilthione, hydroxyhomosildenafil, hydroxylthiohomosildenafil , hydroxythiohomosildenafil, noracetildenafil, piperadino vardenafil, propoxyphenyl sildenafil, sulfoaildenafil/thioaildenafil, sulfoaildenafil methanesulfonate, sulfohomosildenafil, sulfohydroxyhomosildenafil, sulfosildenafil, thiomethisosildenafil); dapoxetine

Sildenafil is the active ingredient in the prescription drug Viagra. It’s been found in hundreds of supplements (including 159 on our database). We also found dapoxetine in eight supplements in our database.

Anti-anxiety drugs – Hidden drugs found in supplements in our database: picamilon

Used in Russia to treat various neurological conditions, the synthetic drug has never been approved for sale in the US but has been found in many brain-enhancing supplements here unbeknownst to consumers.

Antidepressants – Hidden drugs found in supplements in our database: fluoxetine, doxepin

Seven of the weight loss supplements in our database contained fluoxetine, which is the active drug in the prescription antidepressant Prozac. Fluoxetine is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), a type of drug used to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and panic disorder. You’d have no idea you were taking an SSRI in your weight loss supplement. “SSRIs have been associated with serious side effects including suicidal thinking, abnormal bleeding, and seizures,” an FDA warning letter reads. “In patients on other medications for common conditions (aspirin, ibuprofen, or other drugs for depression, anxiety, bipolar illness, blood clots, chemotherapy, heart conditions, and psychosis), ventricular arrhythmia or sudden death can occur.”

Diuretics – Hidden drugs found in supplements in our database: bumetanide, furosemide

Some weight loss supplements contain prescription-strength diuretics.

Stimulants – Hidden drugs found in supplements in our database: BMPEA, DMAA, DMBA, DEPEA, ephedrine, ephedrine alkaloids, fenproporex 

BMPEA, DMAA, and DMBA were hidden ingredients in many popular muscle-building and fat-burning supplements….DMAA was banned in the US, UK, and several other countries because it has been linked to strokes, heart failure, and sudden death. Yet it was the second most popular drug on our database, appearing in 110 products on our database. DMBA is a synthetic version of DMAA …Similarly, BMPEA was never approved as a pharmaceutical, so it has never been studied in humans — and, again, it’s another common supplement ingredient.

Anabolic steroids – Anabolic steroids lurked in 81 products on our database. Most of them were marketed to men, promising to help build muscle fast.

Anti-inflammatory drugs – Hidden drugs found in supplements in our database: diclofenac, ibuprofen, indomethacin, naproxen, phenylbutazone.

Other – Hidden drugs found in supplements in our database: anthistamines (chlorpheniramine, cyproheptadine), phenytoin (anticonvulsant), chlorpromazine (antipsychotic), aromatase inhibitor, propranolol (beta blocker), nefopam (non-opioid pain relief)

5. Raw material selection and contamination

The next step to consider is the selection of the raw material. In essence you are relying on the integrity and values of the company to select safe and effective raw materials, free from contamination.

How is this working out?

In 2010 US based Consumer Reports tested 15 popular protein supplements and concluded:

All of the drinks in our tests had at least one sample containing one or more of these contaminants: arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury. For most drinks we tested, levels were in the low to moderate range, when we could detect them. But with three of the products we tested, consumers who have three servings daily could be exposed to levels of one or two of these contaminants that exceed the maximum limits proposed by U.S. Pharmacopeia, the federally recognized authority that sets voluntary standards to cover dietary supplements.[xxvi]

The worst offending product? EAS Myoplex Original Rich Dark Chocolate Shake.

In 2018 the Denver-based Clean Label Project used the independent analytical chemistry laboratory Ellipse Analytics to test 134 of the top selling (based on Nielsen and Amazon.com best-selling lists) animal- and plant-based protein powders.[xxvii] Clean Label selected and purchased the powders from retail store shelves and from online sources. The products were screened for over 130 toxins including heavy metals, BPA, pesticides, and other contaminants with links to cancer and other health conditions.

  • Of the 134 products tested, 53 were found to have “substantially elevated” levels of the following heavy metals – Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Arsenic and BPA.

  • Of the whey-based protein powders, about 10 percent of contained lead levels above health guidelines.

  • Of the plant-based protein powders.75 percent had measurable levels of lead.

  • Each contained on average twice the amount of lead per serving as other products.

  • In addition to lead, the plant powders in several cases contained mercury, cadmium and arsenic above health-based guidelines.

The five products that received the poorest overall scores in this test were:

In summary:

Unfortunately, federal regulations do not generally require that protein drinks and other dietary supplements be tested before they are sold to ensure that they are safe, effective and free of contaminants. [xxviii]

As a result ‘most consumers don’t realize their lives are on the line before the government steps in’:

“No supplements are prescreened for efficacy and safety by the government,” said Bryn Austin, a professor in the department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “The FDA is reactive. Because of the way Congress ties their hands, they have to wait until there’s serious harm — deaths, injury, liver damage, transplants. Most consumers don’t realize their lives are on the line before the government steps in.” [xxix]

6.  Truth in labeling

In 2013 ConsumerLab.com found problems with the quality of five the 16 protein products it selected for testing and confirmed these findings in a second independent laboratory:[xxx]

  • A protein powder from a popular brand was missing 16 grams of protein per scoop — the majority of the protein it promised. Instead, it contained an extra 16 grams of carbohydrates (including an extra 3 grams of sugar)
  • A powdered meal replacement shake was contaminated with 12.7 mcg of lead per serving (far more than permitted in California without a warning label)
  • A popular protein energy meal with spirulina had an extra 6.7 grams of carbohydrates (including an extra 4 grams of sugar) and an additional 25.7 calories per serving
  • A protein powder — from a “GMP certified” facility — claiming “0” cholesterol really had 10.2 mg
  • A protein supplement claiming 5 mg of cholesterol actually had 14.2 mg

In 2015 the New York State attorney general’s office accused four national retailers on Monday of selling dietary supplements that were fraudulent and in many cases contaminated with unlisted ingredients.[xxxi]

The authorities said they had run tests on popular store brands of herbal supplements at the retailers — Walmart, Walgreens, Target and GNC — which showed that roughly four out of five of the products contained none of the herbs listed on their labels. In many cases, the authorities said, the supplements contained little more than cheap fillers like rice and house plants, or substances that could be hazardous to people with food allergies.

At GNC, for example, the agency found that five out of six samples from the company’s signature “Herbal Plus” brand of supplements “were either unrecognizable or a substance other than what they claimed to be.” In pills labeled ginkgo biloba, the agency found only rice, asparagus and spruce, an ornamental plant commonly used for Christmas decorations.

At Target, the agency tested six herbal products from its popular “Up and Up” store brand of supplements. Three out of six – including ginkgo biloba, St. John’s wort and valerian root, a sleep aid – tested negative for the herbs listed on their labels. But the agency did find that the pills contained powdered rice, beans, peas and wild carrots.

Here are the products that were analyzed by the attorney general, along with the test results that were described in cease-and-desist letters that the agency sent to the four retailers.

In 2016 further tests were conduced by ConsumberLab.com including 27 protein supplements — 14 selected by ConsumerLab.com and 13 others that passed voluntary certification testing – of which 28% failed quality tests. The reports findings included:[xxxii]

  • Two protein powders contained more cholesterol than claimed. In fact, one which did not list any cholesterol actually had 16.5 mg per serving
  • One protein powder contained 181.4 mg more sodium than listed
  • Another product contained 70 mg more sodium than listed and was contaminated with cadmium, a toxic heavy metal

7.  Outsourcing manufacturing

In 2003 the AustralianTherapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) suspended the licence held by Pan Pharmaceuticals Limited of Sydney to manufacture medicines, for a period of six months, because of serious concerns about the quality and safety of products manufactured by the company.[xxxiii]

The suspension follows audits of the company’s manufacturing premises, which revealed widespread and serious deficiencies and failures in the company’s manufacturing and quality control procedures, including the systematic and deliberate manipulation of quality control test data. The licence has been suspended in order to urgently address the safety and quality concerns posed by the multiple manufacturing breaches. Where the quality of a medicine cannot be certain, neither can the safety or effectiveness of that medicine.

Due to the serious and widespread nature of the manufacturing problems identified and following expert advice regarding potential risks, the TGA has taken the decision to recall all batches of medicines manufactured by Pan Pharmaceuticals Ltd since 1 May 2002 and that are being supplied on the Australian market.

219 products manufactured and supplied in Australia by Pan Pharmaceuticals Limited have been identified for immediate recall. These products have been cancelled from the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods for quality and safety reasons. The company has also had its approval to supply its range of export products (approximately 1650) cancelled.

In addition, a further, larger recall of products manufactured by Pan Pharmaceuticals Limited under contract for other sponsors is underway. The TGA has been working with the sponsors of these products to identify those for recall. Lists of these products have been published in the newspapers and details are also available on this website.

This action essentially emptied all chemists (drug-stores) in Australia of nutritional supplements, creating a national shortage. It also made it very clear to astute consumers that they may have thought they were buying different brands, in reality most were being made in the same manufacturing facility.

While we all have our favorite brands of dietary supplements, the brands may not be as distinct as we think from a manufacturing perspective. Dietary supplement manufacturing spans a wide spectrum. One of the most common manufacturing methods is for a finished product company to contract the manufacturing to another entity. This practice is referred to as contract manufacturing or outsourced manufacturing. Contract manufacturers have been part of the dietary supplement industry from its inception, when most finished product companies were retailers and not manufacturers.[xxxiv]

There are issues arising when the finished product company sub-contracts the manufacturing process:

The use of contract manufacturers also presents some challenges. The finished product company bears ultimate responsibility for the quality of the products that bear their label. This means that the finished product company has to abide by cGMP regulations themselves and must also ensure that their contract manufacturers are compliant as well.[xxxv]

In an already low-regulated and problematic industry, another ‘cog’ in the process provides further potential complications of accountability and quality assurance. The cost to establish in-house manufacturing facilities is a luxury only a small percentage of supplement companies have.

8.  All of the above

Many cases that have been subject to reporting by government regulatory agencies include more than of the above seven category breaches. Here’s a great and recent case example of this:

“…an eighteen count indictment against Jared Wheat, the CEO of Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Hi-Tech), a supplement company based in Norcross, Georgia, has been unsealed. According to the superseding indictment, the current charges against Wheat include wire fraud, money laundering, introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce and manufacturing and distributing controlled substances, specifically Schedule III controlled anabolic steroids. There are also charges in the indictment against John Brandon Schopp, the Director of Contract Manufacturing for Hi-Tech.

The indictment alleges that Wheat, Schopp, and Hi-Tech manufactured and distributed to prospective and current customers false U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Certificates of Free Sale, good manufacturing practice (GMP) certificates, and GMP audit reports. The indictment contends that the GMP certificates and audits reports, which are supposed to come from an independent third party, were issued by PharmaTech, a company controlled by Wheat. The manufacturing and distributing controlled substances charges stem from the government’s allegations that Hi-Tech produced at least five supplements containing anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids are a Schedule III controlled substance and require a prescription. The misbranded drug charge alleges that Wheat and Hi-Tech manufactured a supplement named Choledrene which contained lovastatin. Lovastatin is an ingredient used in statin drugs and is regulated by the FDA. Hi-Tech should never have used lovastatin as an ingredient in any supplement, and they did not include it on the list of ingredients on the bottle.[xxxvi]

The following is an interesting insight into the effectiveness of past attempts to modify behavior in this industry:

If he is found guilty, this will not be Wheat’s first time in jail. In 2014, he served two months in federal prison for failing to carry out a recall brought about the Federal Trade Commission’s claim of false advertising for Hi-Tech’s weight loss products. Wheat was released when the recall had been completed. In 2009, the FDA announced he received a two-year prison sentence after being found guilty of selling counterfeit medications online, which he claimed were made in Canada, but were actually manufactured in unsanitary conditions in Belize. An investigation by AJC listed several other legal battles between federal authorities and Wheat/Hi-Tech. [xxxvii] [xxxviii]

An irrestible opportunity to make serious money – Seeking forgiveness is easier than seeking permission

“Pssst! Wanna start a supplement company? There is sooo much money to be made! We can make up anything we want, say anything we want, and if theproverbial hits the wall we can go straight. After all, humans are so gullible. As long as we hire some great copy writers to make some very convincing long copy. We can also make an internet (and or hard copy) magazine to provide ‘third-party’ indirect endorsements!”

The global dietary supplements market is expected to reach USD 278.02 billion by 2024, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Favorable outlook towards medical nutrition market in light of increasing application for the treatment of malnutrition and cardiovascular disorders is likely to promote the market for dietary supplements. 

Rising sales of sports nutrition products in the U.S. and China on account of increasing prevalence of fitness and sports at a domestic level along with new product launches is likely to have a significant impact on the industry over the projected period. The market is expected to generate revenues worth USD 37.16 billion by 2024.

Rising consumption of clinical nutrition products as a prevention medium for reducing malnutrition is expected to have a substantial impact. Furthermore, increasing prevalence of premature births on a global level is expected to promote the use of medicinal supplements over the forecast period. The market was worth USD 19.17 billion in 2015 and is projected to witness growth at a CAGR of 9.5% from 2016 to 2024.[xxxix]

Groundbreaking US female computer scientist and a Navy officer Grace Hopper[xl] (back when it was virtually impossible for a woman to succeed in either role) is commonly credited with coining the phrase that’s the mantra of a lot of 21st Century nutritional supplement entrepreneurs:

“It is easier to get forgiveness than permission.”

The following is an example of this commercial value set:[xli]

AngelList “corporate policy” is that team members should ask forgiveness, not permission. We would rather have someone do something wrong than ask permission to do it. 

Now in fairness they do add:

Or better, we would rather have someone do something right and not need permission to do it. This is the most common outcome.

But when you and I can make SO much money, let’s forget about that….

Conclusion

So how widespread in the supplement industry are these ‘challenges’? According to 2013 statement by Dr. Daniel Fabricant, head the FDA’s division of Dietary Supplement Programs at the time:

“…About 70 percent of the nation’s supplement companies have run afoul of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s manufacturing regulations over the past five years, according to a top agency official….

Consumers are put at risk by poorly measured ingredients, uncleaned manufacturing equipment, pesticides in herbal products, supplements contaminated with illegal prescription medications — even bacteria in pediatric vitamins, recall notices and agency inspection records have shown….

While most vitamins and supplements are not harmful — and at least one vitamin brand was credited with an 8 percent reduction in cancer among men over 50 — the industry is beset by repeated recalls, manufacturing problems and adverse reactions caused by tainted products, health experts and regulatory officials say….” ”[xlii]

If you have read this entire article, and have reached this point, I would be keen to know what you are thinking. Has this changed your view point on who you can trust? Personally, the more I became aware of this challenge during the last few decades, the more I have retreated to working with companies led by people whose value for excellence, safety, and regulatory compliance I trust. After all, it is more than just the health of my family and myself – I am responsible for the lives and careers of many athletes and coaches, whose livelihoods, reputations and legacies can be extinguished with a few words – ‘positive drug test’.

Quite simply I am amazed at how much energy goes into the discussion of supplements focused almost exclusively on the manufacturers marketing and labeling claims, completely oblivious to the real challenges in nutritional supplements – the challenges raised in this article. Your beliefs are virtually useless in the absence of your awareness of the companies values, integrity, raw material selection, manufacturing process and so on.

“From California to Maine, consumers ingest pills, powders, and liquids every day, not knowing whether they are wasting money or whether they may end up harming, rather than helping, themselves,” said Benjamin Mizer, principal deputy assistant attorney general. “Unfortunately, many of these products are not what they purport to be or cannot do what the distributors claim they can do.”[xliii]

Here’s my challenge to you. Do you want to do what’s best for your short, medium and long term health? Or is your desire to conform to the power of marketing and social trends so great that you are willing to forgo your health? Because I suggest right now the latter is your dominant value. Perhaps you didn’t know any better? Now you do. It will be interesting to see what direction you take now…..

 

References

[1] Cited in Roach, R., 2011, Muscle, Smoke and Mirrors, Vol. 2, Author House, p. 619.

[2] Jones, A., 2004, And God Laughs, The Autobiographical Memoirs of Arthur Jones, PDA Press.

[3] Roach, R., 2011, Muscle, Smoke and Mirrors, Vol. 1, Author House, p. 394.

[i] https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/demand-organic-food-growing-faster-domestic-supply

[ii] http://fortune.com/2015/04/22/mcdonalds-restaurants-closing/

[iii] Marcus, M., 2015, How safe are your dietary supplements?, CBS News, Nov 18 2015, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dietary-supplements-how-safe-are-they/

[iv] Geller, A.I., et al, 2015, Emergency Department Visits for Adverse Events Related to Dietary Supplements, New England Journal of Medicine 2015, 373:1531-1540. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa1504267

[v] Belluz, J., 2015, The government is bringing criminal charges against companies that sell bogus dietary supplements, Vox, No 18 2015, https://www.vox.com/2015/11/17/9751592/dietary-supplements-justice-criminal-charges

[vi] Harel, Z., Harel, S., and Ward, R., 2013, The Frequency and Characteristics of Dietary Supplement Recalls in the United States, May 27 2013, JAMA Intern Med. 2013;173(10):929-930.https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/1678813

[vii] Ricks, D., 2013, FDA official: 70% of supplement companies violate agency rules, Newsday, Aug 16 2013, https://www.newsday.com/news/health/fda-official-70-of-supplement-companies-violate-agency-rules-1.5920525

[viii] Gavuro, S., 2010, Supplement Regulation: Be Careful What You Wish For, Science-based Medicine, Augus 5 2010, https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/supplement-regulation-be-careful-what-you-wish-for/

[ix] https://www.fda.gov/food/dietarysupplements/default.htm

[x] Gavuro, S., 2010, Supplement Regulation: Be Careful What You Wish For, Science-based Medicine, Augus 5 2010, https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/supplement-regulation-be-careful-what-you-wish-for/

[xi] Moran, C., 2015, Feds File Criminal, Civil Cases Against More Than 100 Supplement Companies, Consumerist, 17 Nov 2015, https://consumerist.com/2015/11/17/feds-file-criminal-civil-cases-against-more-than-100-supplement-companies/

[xii] Swetlitz, I., 2015, Dietary supplement manufacturers face flurry of federal charges, Statnews, Nov 17 2015, https://www.statnews.com/2015/11/17/supplements-fda-criminal-charges/

[xiii] Latman, P., and O’Connor, A., 2015, Makers of Nutritional Supplements Charged in Federal Sweep, Well, Nov 17 2015

https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/11/17/federal-officials-target-dietary-supplement-makers/

[xiv] Department of Justice (DOJ), 2017, United States Files Enforcement Action Against Long Island Company and Its Owner to Prevent Distribution of Adulterated and Misbranded Dietary Supplements, Press Release, 23 Oct 2017, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-files-enforcement-action-against-long-island-company-and-its-owner-prevent

[xv] Lynch, S., 2016, GNC settles dietary supplements case with U.S. government, Reuters, 16 Dec 2016, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gnc-hldg-settlement-idUSKBN13W2B2

[xvi] Natural Products Insider, 2016, Dietary Supplement Marketer Convicted of Selling Ephedra Years After FDA Ban, June 03, 2016, https://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/litigation/dietary-supplement-marketer-convicted-selling-ephedra-years-after-fda-ban

[xvii] Harel, Z., Harel, S., and Ward, R., 2013, The Frequency and Characteristics of Dietary Supplement Recalls in the United States, May 27 2013, JAMA Intern Med. 2013;173(10):929-930.https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/1678813

[xviii] Ricks, D., 2013, FDA official: 70% of supplement companies violate agency rules, Newsday, Aug 16 2013, https://www.newsday.com/news/health/fda-official-70-of-supplement-companies-violate-agency-rules-1.5920525

[xix] Martinez-Sans, J.M., et al, 2017, Intended or Unintended Doping? A Review of the Presence of Doping Substances in Dietary Supplements Used in Sports, A revew, Nutrients, 4 Oct 2017

[xx] Swimming Worldm 2009, Jessica Hardy Suspension Reduced to One Year, Supplement Ruled as Contaminated; USA Swimming Releases Statement; USADA Press Release; AdvoCare Disputes Findings – Updated, 4 May 20109, https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/jessica-hardy-suspension-reduced-to-one-year-supplement-ruled-as-contaminated-usa-swimming-releases-statement-usada-press-release-advocare-disputes-findings-updated/

[xxi] ESPN, 2005, Vencill was suspended two years, missed Olympics, 14 May 2005, http://www.espn.com.au/skiing/news/story?id=2059714

[xxii] Rummell, N., 2017, Pro Fighter Blames Supplements for Failed Drug Test, Courthouse News Service Oct 19 2017, https://www.courthousenews.com/pro-fighter-blames-failed-drug-test-supplements/

[xxiii] Earlier in 2017 the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency conducted its own analysis of Anavite and found it contained 1-andro. The agency now warns athletes not to use it, noting that Gaspari Nutrition has received numerous warnings from the Food and Drug Administration since 2014 regarding claims that its products are adulterated with potentially dangerous ingredients.

[xxiv] Belluz, J., and Oh, S., 2016, Unregulated, https://www.vox.com/a/supplements

[xxv] Belluz, J., and Oh, S., 2016, Unregulated, https://www.vox.com/a/supplements

[xxvi] Consumer Reports, 2010, How about some heavy metals with that protein drink?, June 2 2010, https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2010/06/how-about-some-heavy-metals-with-that-protein-drink/index.htm

[xxvii] Clean Label Project, 2018, 2018 Protein Powder Study, https://www.cleanlabelproject.org/protein-powder/

[xxviii] Consumer Reports, 2010, How about some heavy metals with that protein drink?, June 2 2010, https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2010/06/how-about-some-heavy-metals-with-that-protein-drink/index.htm

[xxix] Marcus, M., 2015, How safe are your dietary supplements?, CBS News, Nov 18 2015, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dietary-supplements-how-safe-are-they/

[xxx] ConsumerLab.com, 2013, 31% of Protein Powders and Drinks Fail Tests by ConsumerLab.com, June 2 2013, https://www.consumerlab.com/news/Protein_Powders_Reviewed/06_11_2013/

[xxxi] O’Connor, A., 2015, What’s in Those Supplements?, Well, https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/03/sidebar-whats-in-those-supplements/

[xxxii] ConsuberLab.com, 2016, Protein powders, shakes and drinks review, June 10 2016, https://www.consumerlab.com/reviews/Protein_Powders_Shakes_and_Drinks_Including_Nutrition_Diet_Meal-Replacement_and_Sports_Endurance_Recovery/NutritionDrinks/

[xxxiii] Australian Government, Department of Health, Therapeutic Goods Adminstration, Pan Pharmaceuticals Limited: Regulatory action & product recall information, April 28 2003, https://www.tga.gov.au/product-recall/pan-pharmaceuticals-limited-regulatory-action-product-recall-information

[xxxiv] Alschuler, L., 2011, Who Makes These Dietary Supplements, Anyway?, Natural Medicine Journal, Dec 2011, Vol 3(12), https://www.naturalmedicinejournal.com/journal/2011-12/who-makes-these-dietary-supplements-anyway-0

[xxxv] Alschuler, L., 2011, Who Makes These Dietary Supplements, Anyway?, Natural Medicine Journal, Dec 2011, Vol 3(12), https://www.naturalmedicinejournal.com/journal/2011-12/who-makes-these-dietary-supplements-anyway-0

[xxxvi] The Partnership for Safe Medicines, 2017, Company And Ceo Charged With Illegally Adding Scheduled Drugs To Supplements, Oct 27 2017, https://www.safemedicines.org/2017/10/company-and-ceo-charged-with-illegally-adding-scheduled-drugs-to-supplements.html

[xxxvii] The Partnership for Safe Medicines, 2017, Company And Ceo Charged With Illegally Adding Scheduled Drugs To Supplements, Oct 27 2017, https://www.safemedicines.org/2017/10/company-and-ceo-charged-with-illegally-adding-scheduled-drugs-to-supplements.html

[xxxviii] Brunkner, M., 2009, Diet Supplement king gets 50 months in prison, NBC News, Crime and Courts, February 3 2009, http://www.nbcnews.com/id/28983195/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/diet-supplement-king-gets-months-prison/#.WwkvG2Xuz7Y

[xxxix] Grand View Research, 2016, Dietary Supplements Market Size Is Projected To Reach $278.02 Billion By 2024, Demand In Food & Beverage Sector : Grand View Research, Inc., San Francisco, July 18, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE), https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2016/07/18/856668/0/en/Dietary-Supplements-Market-Size-Is-Projected-To-Reach-278-02-Billion-By-2024-Demand-In-Food-Beverage-Sector-Grand-View-Research-Inc.html

[xl] https://www.facebook.com/notes/big-optimism/grace-hopper-its-better-to-ask-forgiveness-than-permission/521620811362966

[xli] Venture Hacks, 2013, Good advice for start-ups, Ask forgiveness, not permission, Feb 11 2013, http://venturehacks.com/articles/ask-forgiveness-not-permission

[xlii] Ricks, D., 2013, FDA official: 70% of supplement companies violate agency rules, Newsday, Aug 16 2013, https://www.newsday.com/news/health/fda-official-70-of-supplement-companies-violate-agency-rules-1.5920525

[xliii] Belluz, J., 2015, How 2 dietary supplement companies made $400 million off bogus weight loss products, Vox, No 19 2015, https://www.vox.com/2015/11/19/9761524/usp-labs-indictment

Ian King

Nutritional supplements and strength training: Part 2 – A different paradigm

/by

What supplements should you be taking? If your said goal is to get bigger, stronger and or leaner, surely these are the supplements you should be focusing on? Those supplements that claim these specific benefits on their label and in their marketing? However what if it’s not this simple? What if there is more to it? What if there is a better way to achieve your goals through supplementation? The aim of this article is to encourage you to ask these questions, and guide you to possible answers.

Without a doubt the dominant focus in mainstream influences on supplementation for the strength training market is performance enhancement. However there is another consideration or category of supplementation, that I call ‘system support’.

The question is what is its respective role in the nutritional supplementation? That is how much focus should be placed on performance enhancement supplements and how much on system supporting supplements?

In Part 1 of this article series – The arrival of smoke and mirrors – I raised the question of whether your supplement selection has been fraudulently influenced by the perception that you may receive the same training effects as the drug support physique used to market the supplement. In Part 2 of this series, I raise questions about the focus of your supplement selection.

Two paths

In training the opportunity exists for an awareness of injury prevention versus performance enhancement, in a world fixated on performance enhancement.

As physical preparation consultants, we are involved in two main areas – firstly performance enhancement, and secondly injury prevention. Now those who are familiar with my teachings know I prioritize injury prevention…..[1]

In nutritional supplementation I raise a similar dichotomy. The opportunity exists for systems support (or health) supplements in addition to the performance enhancement category. As with training, the world focuses on performance enhancing supplementation and ignores system support supplements.

In training, the world prioritizes the focus on performance enhancement.

The dominant mainstream way in program design is to be performance focused. I believe that the primary focus should be on injury prevention. Only when injury potential has been negated, should the dominant focus be reverted to performance enhancement. [2]

However if your ‘performance enhancement is creating injury potential – and I suggest most do – then are your really enhancing performance? Or are you engaging in performance decrement training? Or dysfunctional training, as I call it?

In supplementation, if your training degrades the systems of the body – and this is what training does at least temporarily – and you fail to support these systems, yet you take more performance enhancing supplements to in theory allow you to degrade the systems further. How does this make sense?

In essence I suggest performance enhancement in training begins with and is limited by the presence of injury. Performance enhancement in supplementation, I suggest is no different – failing to support the systems of the body is the primary limiting factor to recovery, which is the pre-requisite for training adaptations or performance enhancement.

Systems support

In the area of training I have for decades published on the role and importance of recovery in achieving the desired training outcomes.

So let me make it very clear for you – the training effect is not simply the training! Instead, it is the training followed by recovery. The addition of the ‘recovery’ to the ‘training’ is what gives you the training effect. [3]

Yes, training is important – but it is not the complete picture. If I teach you nothing else, then I have made a significant impact on not only how you train but also the results you’ll get![4]

I truly hope that you come to understand that optimal training is not about how much or hard or long or painful it can be; rather it is about the amount of training, which when combined with the recovery situation you are in, will give you the best training effect…

I am going to make it very clear the need to give the component of recovery the same respect as the component of training.[5]

This same recovery focus in training needs to be mirrored in the recovery focus in nutritional supplements.

The question I encourage you to ask is ‘Have I paid enough attention to the supplements that support my recovery from training?’ I suggest not. Not because I know you, but because I know what most do, and that’s not enough in relation to system support or recovery supplementation.

Learning what works in systems support

In physical injuries I learnt one of the best ways to determine the causes and resolution of injuries was from the end point back up. So from working with injured athletes returning them to sport I learnt most effectively the mechanism I needed to prioritize in preventing these conditions in the first place.

I found similar success in systems support. Studying the solutions that health patients are attracted to when their health (and in some cases lives) are at risk. Some of these lessons influence the below.

System support nutritional supplement recommendations

The first consideration is the percentage of your supplements that fall within the ‘systems support’ (health category).

I suggest that approximately 50% or one half of your supplement types taken on a regular basis should be drawn from the ‘systems support’ category.

The next consideration is specific examples. The following outlines some of the critical system support supplements I use and recommend. Note this is aimed at being illustrative, not prescriptive. That is do not infer or conclude that this is a ‘top 5’ list. Rather is a few examples. Ideally you would individualize your systems support supplementation. This is at least the goal of my coaches and I when we help people/athletes with their supplementation.

Vitamin and minerals

When I set out on my life quest to find the answer to what is the best way to train part of that search was to find out the best way to support the training and recovery process through nutritional supplements. One of my first and strongest influences in this area was Bill Starr in his book ‘The Strongest Shall Survive’ published in the 1970s. It was one of the best guides I could have had. To his credit, the recommendations regarding micro-nutrients made by Starr hold today.[6]

Some choose to put together their own combination of the above; some choose a high quality, high potency multi-vitamin/mineral. Either way this should be the corner stone of any system support nutritional supplement program, and arguably the first supplement you select. The role in cell protection by these micronutrients has led the vitamins to be typically referred to as ‘anti-oxidants’. Training accelerates damage at the cellular level, and anti-oxidants are charged with the role of protecting and rebuilding the cells.

Whilst most companies will market and sell their own version of multi vitamin/mineral product, I suggest a minority of supplement users take advantage of this supplement.

Immune system support

Put simply the immediate impact of training is to suppress the body’s systems. The immune system places a major role in how fast (or if) you recover from training. Many and diverse supplements fall into the category of being immune system support, including the above broad spectrum vitamin and mineral supplements I spoke of.

Getting down into isolated micronutrients one of the most simple yet impactive is Vitamin C. I have long supported the view that there are significant benefits from taking Vitamin C dosages in the realm of what Bill Starr recommended (4,000mg/day) and higher.

There are, as I said above, many other supplements that fall under the category of immune systems support. Here are a few that you may not have heard of:

  • Grape seed extract
  • Certain strains of mushroom
  • Baker’s yeast

I have been testing  the above supplements during recent years and have been very impressed with the outcomes.

Joint support

Support of the musculoskeletal system should place very highly in the list of supplements used by everyone, not just the athlete. However as strength athletes place extra loading on their joints, this option becomes more relevant. Some may belief that unless they have apparent joint degeneration this supplement is not relevant to them. I suggest otherwise. I prefer prevention to correction.

The most popular form of joint support is glucosamine. I wrote the following about glucosamine in my 1998 Supplement Review:[7]

What is the purpose of this supplement? Glucosamine aims to reduce joint pain and stiffness resulting from osteoarthritis or joint trauma, especially cartilage trauma.

How long has this supplement been around? Although glucosamine appears to have only relatively recently become readily available in Australia, there is reference to this substance as early as 1989 by Breuer as cited in the 1987 US patent application by Senin et al (87).   Research as early as 1980 has confirmed the role of this substance : “…oral glucosamine treatment produced significant improvement in the symptoms of pain, joint tenderness and swelling, as well as in restriction of movement…moreover treatment was extremely well tolerated.” Therefore it has been around for quite some time, but perhaps its value has not been fully recognised.

Does it work?   Our experience with feedback from athletes is that it does work, especially for athletes with degeneration in the knee joint. Our findings are supported by research such as that by Bhomer et al (8), who trialed glucosamine on 68 athletes who had cartilage damage in the knees. Of these, 52 had complete disappearance of the symptoms. Many researchers have compared the efficacy of glucosamine with non-steroidal anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen, including Senin et al (87), who compared glucosamine with ibuprofen 400 mg (taken orally) over a four (4) week period. The difference in effect was only marginally superior for the ibuprofen, with 52% vs 48% success rate respectively. However the side effects were also greater for the ibuprofen users, 35% to 6% respectively.

Digestive system support

The role and importance of food is unquestioned in strength training nutrition. However what about the ability of the digestive system to break down and absorb the nutrients? In the idea world one may obtain this support from diet, however does this occur for you?

If you choose to supplement your diet for digestive system support there are a number of options you should consider, and therefore ensure the optimization of the consumed nutrition.

These include but are not limited to:

  • Fiber supplements
  • Pro and prebiotics
  • Digestive Enzymes

Again, the best way to discern what is the most effective preventative solution is to study what people lean towards when they find themselves in trouble. In relation to fiber supplements Tamara Duker Freuman writes:

I’ve worked in a gastroenterology practice for the better part of a decade and, with each passing year, I see patients arrive at my doorstep on ever-growing lists of evermore expensive designer supplements to help manage their digestive woes. Call me old-fashioned, but I still find there’s one humble, low-tech, no-frills supplement that helps the largest number of my patients with the widest variety of their issues: fiber.

And provides guidelines for selecting a fiber supplement in this article.[8]

In relation to pre and probiotics, the following definition is provided:[9]

Probiotics are live microorganisms found in bacteria, yeast or fungi, and when taken in large doses can help improve and maintain the health of your gastrointestinal tract. This friendly bacteria is essential for maintaining good health and vitality.

In order for the good bacteria to survive in the bowel, you need to feed them ‘prebiotic’ foods. Prebiotics are non-digestible food fibres that enable good bacteria to stick to the bowel wall and also helps to stimulate their growth.

Sleep support

Sleep disturbance is one of the more prominent side-effects of over-training, and at some stage all those training seriously will brush with this challenge. Keep in mind that during sleep much of our recovery from training and certain critical hormone release occurs.

I strongly recommend all who value sleep have in their ‘tool kit’ a sleep support supplement. This may include:

  • Melatonin
  • Magnesium (or magnesium / calcium) supplements
  • Other mineral supplements high in magnesium

Melatonin is available over the counter in the US but not in say Australia. When you do source melatonin the challenge (as with all supplements) is sourcing a product that has consistent doses in each pill. A brand with varied dosage (and unfortunately that describes most brands) can leave you either failing to achieve the sleep desired, or waking up with a hangover like feeling.

Melatonin has also found favor in the life-extension movement.[10]

The path less traveled

My four decades of professional experience has led me to be what I call realistic about the category of supplements that I have identified – systems support (health) supplements. Here are some of my conclusions/observations:

  • Performance enhancement supplements are easier to market because they promise instant gratification, which is an easier sell to a market conditioned to be attracted to promises of fast results.
  • Continuing to ‘discover’ new ‘breakthroughs’ in performance enhancing supplements keeps the profits ticking over for supplement companies. Especially when the masses finally realize that their prior offerings actually didn’t work.
  • System support supplements may take longer to be evident in their effects than prescription drugs e.g. glucosamine vs. prescription anti-inflammatory drugs. However they effects can be equal in the long term, with lower side effect risks.
  • Be your own expert and do your own research – on yourself. The best way to ascertain the efficacy of any supplement or supplement regime is to objectively review and assess the impact of the supplement/s. See to do so independent of conclusions made by manufacturers or ‘science’.

In summary, I am not expecting the habits I recommend – at least 50% of your supplement intake being system support supplements – to ever dominate in the fitness and sport genres. You are going to need to be a person willing to be ‘different’, to go ‘against the flow’, to embrace my recommendations.

Conclusion

In summary, there is a pattern of over-focus on the so called ‘performance enhancing’ supplements in both the sports and fitness genres. I have proposed another consideration in nutritional supplementation, one that only those who express health as their primary goal appear to place adequate attention upon. I have called this category of supplementation ‘systems support’ supplements, as they are aimed to support the systems of the body tolerate, regenerate and recover from stress of all kinds.

My experience has led me to conclude that superior outcomes may be available with a priority placed on systems support (health) supplements compared to the dominant habit of prioritizing ‘performance enhancing’ supplements. I understand this is not what you have been hearing throughout your time pursing fitness, buff or sports performance.

I recommend if you are committed to optimizing your nutritional supplement program that you be willing to objectively reach your own conclusions, independent of the ‘noise’ in the market place. And that could include testing the recommendations and theories that I have proposed in the above.

 

References

[1] King, I., 2000, Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation Series, Disc 1

[2] King, I., 2005, The way of the physical preparation coach, p. 18

[3] King, I., 1999, Get Buffed! (book), p. 3

[4] King, I., 1999, Get Buffed! (book), p. 3

[5] King, I., 1999, Get Buffed! (book), p. 3-4

[6] Starr, B., 1979, The strongest shall survive Ð strength training for football, Fitness Products Ltd, Washington, p. 146

[7] King, I., 1998, Australian Supplement Review, King Sports International Publishing

[8] https://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/articles/2017-06-06/how-to-choose-a-fiber-supplement

[9] https://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/nutrition/nutrition-tips/prebiotics-vs-probiotics/news-story/eaebb9846aa1dd763def0a9a141f7d31

[10] http://www.lifeextension.com/Magazine/2012/9/7-Ways-Melatonin-Attacks-Aging-Factors/Page-01

Ian King

Nutritional supplements and strength training: Part 1 – The arrival of smoke and mirrors

/by

Any survey or cross reference of articles titled ‘The Top Bodybuilding Supplements you need to be taking’– and there is no shortage of the there article [1] [2] [3]– on what are the top most popular strength training supplements today’ would find the following common them – creatine, BCAA, caffeine or similar stimulants, glutamine, fish oils, and protein powders. The question I have, which may surprise – is this approach optimal?

Now we could debate which are really the top most popular supplements, however just run with this message – why is it that everyone is basically singing from the same song sheet? It is because the masses have got it worked out and you shouldn’t mess with this formula? Or is it more of a case of conforming sheep?

Anyone willing to take a journey down the modern history of supplementation in strength training may reach the same conclusions that many have, including the author of trilogy book series ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ Randy Roach[1] – that the game changed forever in the 1960s.

1940-1950s

In the post was late 1940s environment the story goes that friends of English athlete turned bodybuilder Reg Park would share their milk and cream rations with him, allowing him to consume more protein than the average person.

“In the Golden Age of Classic Physique Building (the 1940s and 50s), the approach to diet was much simpler than today. The CPB Champs simply ate a high protein diet consisting of what they considered to be “nutritious, wholesome foods.” So basically the diet was meat (all kinds), dairy (whether cow-based or goat-based), eggs, fruits, vegetables (in salads or cooked), nuts, and a bit of whole-grain cereals & bread (starchy foods were used sparingly).”[2]

1960s

1960 was considered a seminal year in strength training nutritional supplements. During the late 1950s American pharmaceutical companies such as Ciba began producing anabolic steroids for human use. This changed the landscape in the ‘iron game’.

“At the beginning of the decade, protein was still #1 on the bodyuiblders checklist, but it would soon drop to the #2 position as the sport begian to shift into anabolic over-drive.” [3]

Roach in his book ‘Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors’ talks about how the arrival of anabolic steroids on the strength training scene in the US from 1960 onwards muddied the waters, allowing marketers of equipment and supplements to make all sorts of claims about the effectiveness of their equipment, training protocols or over the counter supplements, whilst the truth was more about the steroids.

Bob Hoffman of York Barbell and Joe Weider of the Muscle and Fitness magazine were two names that have been connected with this 1960s phenomenon where drugs were giving the results yet equipment, training programs and supplements were being advertised as the reason behind the great gains.

Here is an example of 1960s marketing (by Bob Hoffman) that Roach raises questions about the true cause of the improvement:

“…training experiments with simple exercises, with particular emphasis on nutrition, notably the continued regular use of Hi-Proteen an ENERGOL, and more use of our Super Gain Weight Tablet, Liver, Iron, Vitamin B12. I gained at an amazing rate and soon developed noticeable muscles.” [4]

Weider it was suggested stood on both sides of the aisle, decrying the use of drugs in articles but willing to use drug supported athletes to market his supplements and other products.

This drug use quickly spread into other sports. In a November 1962 issue of ‘Iron Man’, editor and owner Peary Rader….

“….spoke out early and pleaded with his readership in an article titled “Don’t Do it Fellows” . He wrote on Dianabol and Nilivar and the fact that they had already spread into the coaching ranks of both high school and college football.” [5]

US chiropractor and strength coach Ken Leistner tells a great story about what Joe Weider said to him when Ken challenged Joe as to why Ken, as a teenager bought and used all the supplements that Joe was marketing and they didn’t get him the results advertised. He said Joe Weider said words to the effect:

“My job was to pull as many boys off the street and into the gym as I could using the advertising that I did. In the time you realized it was bullshit, I already had you hooked into a healthier lifestyle of workout out and eating better.” [6]

From my personal observations during the four decades from the 1980 to the current decade, and from my study of iron game magazines from the 1970s, I suggest that the game developed in the 1960s has continued to date – that is, great gains and great outcomes by performance enhancing drugs have provided the backdrop to benefit claims for a wide range of training methods, equipment and supplements.

In the ideal world, it would be of great value to see the full ‘supplement’ use of any claims about supplementation disclosed before any conclusions are reached. This concern not only relates to typical bodybuilding supplement claims, it also relates to a number of ‘research articles’ that have been published based on elite athletes in sports with high performance enhancing drug use. The results are simply misleading in the absence of controlling the variable of drug use. At least that is the objective nature of science – to control the variables and change and measure the other/s.

The same marketing techniques that were developed and refined over half a century ago, I suggest, still dominate the market. And as a result, the masses have been misled for six decades and continuing.

When I ask anyone in strength training which supplements they are taking, the overwhelming majority will be taking the most dominantly marketed supplements of the times. Do they work? Are they effective? Who knows. That is not the reason they are taking them. They are taking them because that is what everyone has been led to believe, through effective marketing, they ‘need’ to be taking them.

What is that was not the case? What if we stripped back to square one and only added for supplements long use after an appropriate, objective personal trial of them.

As with my approach to training, I am less interested in what can be shown to produce an effect, and more interested in what is the optimal approach.

There are only so many supplements most individuals will consume contemporaneously, whether from a budget limitation or other reasons. I suggest your goal should be to order your supplement intake in a priority based on optimal effectiveness, rather than a blind adoption of the dominant, market driven trends.

Now I understand the human desire make emotional decisions and justify them logically. So if you are drawn to using the same supplement suite as everyone else, I’m confident you can find a ‘reason’ for them.

However for those who are committed to thinking for themselves, are willing to act primarily upon their own personal conclusions, to follow the advice of one of America’s most intelligent men – Buckminster Fuller, who wrote:

“…fifty-three years ago at age thirty-two, jettisoned all that I had ever been taught to believe and proceeded thereafter to reason and act only on the basis of direct personal experience.” [7]

So what were the dominant habits of strength athletes prior to the 1960s when the arrival of anabolics masked any hope of truth in marketing? Up until the 1960s two main supplements dominated. You can see these two in this quote from the Legend, three times Mr. Universe Reg Park.

In an interview with Reg published by Osmo “John” Kiiha in his magazine ‘The Iron Master’ Reg is quoted as saying:

“I liked to eat like a king, but only food that was good for me. I ate prodigious amounts of food during the day, but adhered to a very balanced diet with everything in proper proportions. My favorite food is steak, which I sometimes eat twice a day. I also like salads, orange juice and wine. I have a wine cellar in my home. I also have used protein supplements and take vitamin and mineral tablets.” [8]

Isn’t that interesting.

Conclusion

In summary things changed in the 1960s and stayed the same since. Drug supported physiques are used to market you the supplements that you take, on the belief or inference that the results achieved by the model are the ones you are going to achieve by use of the supplement being marketed. And you believe it.

References

[1] https://www.musclesmokeandmirrors.com

[2] Reg Park’s diet for a classic physique, Classic physique builder, https://classicphysiquebuilder.blogspot.com.au/2009/02/reg-parks-diet-for-classic-physique.html

[3] Roach, R., 2008 Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors, AuthorHouse, p. 381.

[4] Roach, R., 2008 Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors, AuthorHouse, p. 383.

[5] Roach, R., 2008 Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors, AuthorHouse, p. 387.

[6] Roach, R., 2008 Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors, AuthorHouse, p. 389.

[7] Buckminster Fuller, R., 1981, Critical Path

[8] Reg Park’s diet for a classic physique, Classic physique builder, https://classicphysiquebuilder.blogspot.com.au/2009/02/reg-parks-diet-for-classic-physique.html

Ian King

Dysfunctional Training

/by

A method you are already employing

After four decades of professional involvement I have concluded that what most of what the world does in their so-called ‘strength and conditioning’ programs is create dysfunction in the body. I have now chosen to call it dysfunctional training.[1] I understand it is not their intent to create dysfunction, however I firmly suggest it is the outcome.

It’s not a totally new thought. In the 1990s, after nearly 20 years in the industry, I wrote:

… I believe that most injuries are actually caused by the way athletes train… – training, during which focus is geared towards performance enhancement, may induce most injuries…. [2]

In the 2000s I wrote:

I have formed the opinion that most strength training programs do more damage than good… [3]

…from my observations, most physical preparation programs do more harm than good….[4]

In the 2010s I wrote:

How many people around the world are being led into less-than optimal training because their trainers/coaches lack the ability to discern and evaluate information? And at what cost to their health, injury status, and longevity? Only those in the sickness industry could celebrate this.[5]

Rather, it is a term coined with the benefit of extensive reflection. I have had four decades professionally to gain additional clarity and have decided this training should be labeled ‘dysfunctional training’. This term not only aptly describes the situation it also provides a counter-balance to the common use of the term ‘functional training’.

Use of the term functional training is complete misnomer. In fact I suggest that is the myth perpetuated by equipment distributors for commercial gain. What I strongly suggest is that what you are doing and what the world is doing would be more actually described as dysfunctional training

I appreciate that the overwhelming majority of my industry ‘colleagues’ are not going to like what I have to say here. That’s okay with me. Just stop reading and move on to more agreeable content. [6] My goal is to help those who are seeking a better way with no intent to offend, nor any fear of doing so.

What is the definition of dysfunction?

I define dysfunction as it relates to training as a collection of training decisions (aka a program) that result in the decrease in function of any systems of the body. Dysfunction is only really noticed when it reaches its finally stage, injury. And even then it is typically denied.

In the early stages of the development of dysfunction in any system, the positive adaptations in other systems can appear to provide a net positive training effect. However as the dysfunction grows it outstrips any positive adaptations, at which point causing some to question what is going on. However prior to this tipping point of a net negative outcome, few if any are aware of the growing dysfunction they are developing through their training decisions.

How does dysfunction occur?

Dysfunction of a system of the body occurs when a stimulus applied to the body (e.g. training) and the adaptation or response to that stimulus degrades the function of any system of the body.

To give examples as they relate to the musculoskeletal and neuromuscular system, I refer to my joint gap theory as an example of function or dysfunction:

I’m going to share with you very simply my philosophy on use injuries. I have two bones and some connective tissue. 

We have increased compression of soft tissue as a result of that changed relationship between bones [joints]. We can also have a nerve impingement….[7]

This is my number one reason for stretching. Put simply, if the bones get drawn closer together than desirable, the impingement of connective tissue at the joint can cause all sorts of problems, especially nerve pinching – this can set off all types of neural activity which translates as muscle spasm through to feelings that the muscle has been torn.

You can have a reduction in muscle function due to changes in joint relationships – and you don’t necessarily even know it. This can occur before measurable discomfort occurs. And joint surface changes can also commence before you experience or acknowledge the pain. Pain inhibits function.

In addition to the performance enhancement benefits, your joint health is at risk….

It makes little difference how big and strong you get in the short term, if in the long term you are physically limited because you allowed the joint to become damaged. Joint damage will be accelerated if the joint gap or relationship (distance between two bones) changes. [8]

As it relate to the function of the musculoskeletal and neuromuscular system, any training that negatively impacts the optimal joint relationship is one way to create dysfunction. This form of dysfunction is beyond epidemic – its almost inevitable due to the way programs are designed.

What are the stages of dysfunction?

I have identified five stages of dysfunction:

  1. Dysfunction
  2. Discomfort
  3. Pain
  4. Injury
  5. Surgery

Characteristics of the different stages of dysfunction.

Stage 1 – Dysfunction

Assuming that the human presents in an optimal systems condition prior to the commencement of any physical training program, this period (Level 1) spans from the first stimulus that creates dysfunction through the Level 2 where some signs of discomfort are felt. This can be a lengthy process, depending on the training stimulus and other stresses on the body. What I suggest is that this phase is the phase that occurs over the longest time period, relative ot the other four phases.

This phase is the period during which anyone relying on detectable signals (e.g. pain or injury) is at a loss, as there are no obvious signals. There is a downward trend that is measurable, but only if those performing the assessment had the awareness to look for subtle changes. In other words, this is a period of naïve bliss, typically referred to as the ‘short-term’ adaptations, where the initial conclusion is that great things are occurring, because the initial interpretation or adaptation appears positive.

Stage 2 – Discomfort

The ‘discomfort’ stage is such that it can, and is typically, ignored. Alternatively it is misinterpreted. Either way, the messages being sent out by the body to the brain at a conscious level are rarely respected. Or if they are recognized, the symptoms are addressed, not the cause.

This stage is potentially the second longest time period.

If these messages were respected and a genuine solution sought, it may result in obtaining the solution their and then.

Stage 3 – Pain

This level may be enough to force some to find a solution e.g. rest, or therapy etc. However not all will respect the messages even though they have been raised to a higher level.

The higher the pain threshold, the more ‘determined’ (stubborn?), the more the person has reason to ‘hurt themselves’ – the more the pain will be ignored.

So some may stop here, some will not. This stage is typically shorter in time frames than Stage 2 – Discomfort.

Stage 4 – Injury

After a period of time where the messages from the body are ignored, the body will break. This stage is typically one of the shorter time frames.

Most will stop here, some will not. Either way few will seek and find the true cause, and address it. As such, their injury is likely to return or an injury in a related, explainable way will occur.

If a person reaches this stage they are less likely to acknowledge their contribution to the condition.

Stage 5 – Surgery

If the injury is severe it may warrant surgery or the individual may choose surgery for its expedience or due to the conviction of their advisors.

For the most part surgery requires the same amount of rehabilitation that a less invasive/more conservative approach would require.

Again, if the individual fails to recognize or accept that factors that caused the condition in the first place they are likely to reinjure the same or a related site.

Time based phases of dysfunction

I identify or recognize a sequence or progression of dysfunction that can be categorized as follows:

Short term

It is quite common that a short term positive effect is felt by the person. For example, they may experience increase in muscle strength or size.

Even if the program is dysfunctional – and there is a near 100% probability it is – the negative changes such as changes in join relationship, tissue length, tension or posture will not be apparent, and these degradations may not outweigh the perceived benefits in the short term.

To use the most simple example, a person may be seeking to simply increase muscle size in say their chest and this is occurring. Currently, and beknown to them, their humerus (upper arm) is becoming internally rotated and their chest muscles shortened.

Could you be creating an injury through your training? Even though you are getting bigger, stronger, and leaner and really enjoying it? Sure can – in fact I usually judge how long the average person has been training for by giving their bodies a quick once over visually – the more advanced the postural ‘flaws’, the longer they have been training! Sad? Yes, but fairly accurate.? [9]

Medium term

This is where the individual begins to question either their lack of progress, or clear limiting factors in their function, of the reduced functionality of their body.

They are either experience pains in the shoulder or similar, or wondering why their chest is no longer growing.

Really astute individual may change direction in their training at this stage, but this requires the willingness to be non-conforming with what the masses are doing, ruling out the majority. Most continue as they are despite internal questions as to the efficacy of their approach.

To continue on the simple example of above, this is where the internally rotated upper arm and shortened chest muscles from their dysfunctional, imbalanced program, begin to become evident.

…Imagine that – training and being worse off for it. Well how do you think the athlete would feel if he/she found out! Yeah, they’re real fit – to sit in the stands in their team uniform and watch![10]

Long term

This is the stage where their performance is declining, either through injury induced limitations or limiting factors such as reduced power output etc.

In the simple example above, the individual either faces serious shoulder pain, injury or surgery; and or their chest muscle mass has not progressed for some time. It is quite common to see massive anterior deltoid development in these cases, giving the false illusion of their chest muscle mass. This rarely fools expert observers, however, including bodybuilding competition judges.

…most strength training programs do more damage than good. However it takes many years for the average person to realize this, if ever. The short-term results cause pleasure, but the long-term results inevitably pain. [11]

……most physical preparation programs…may give short term results or confidence to the athlete, but result in significant performance restrictions and or injuries long term.[12]

Why is achieving improved function versus dysfunction so challenging for the masses?

The greatest challenge the world faces in relation to receiving a functional training adaptation is the inability to define and measure it. What is optimal function of the systems of the body? Sure, many can give lovely theoretical response. Let’s be realistic – the industry has yet to learn how to do and or teach individualization of training – what chance do we have of ‘professionals’ being able to diagnose trends in function?

…You need to determine what’s optimal length, tension, stability, and joint position/relationship for each of your “at risk” joints. . Good luck with the latter. I haven’t found too many who’ve mastered the relationship between optimal length and tension and joint health….[13]

The second challenge is the length of time that passes, and the associated change in function of the body, that occur from the point of optimal function to the first sign of discomfort. This is potentially the longest time frame of all five stages. Which means the challenge of reversing the function becomes greater for two reasons. Firstly because ‘professionals’ do not possess the competence to reverse the issues, and secondly because the time frame of reversal is beyond the attention span of most end users.

The third challenge is my perspective or reality that commercial forces, specifically equipment manufacturers, influence the majority of training decisions. The fact that it is rare to see an exercise promoted that didn’t involve the subject holding onto or connected to a training device of some kind is not a coincident. And ideally, a new device, which requires the market to go out and replace their prior purchases. As to what Kettlebells are to Dumbbells, etc. In other words between commercial influence in marketing, the desire to conform by individuals, and the lack of or unwillingness to apply the level of discernment granted the human brain, there is very little chance of the masses moving towards let along achieve true improved functions in the systems of the body as a training adaptation.

Training trends have nothing to do with improving function. The promotion of the term ‘functional training’ sounds as if it does, however I suggest that this very ‘phenomenon’ is in fact a classic example of equipment distributors manipulating the market. I suggest that if you study the rise of this so-called ‘functional movement’ trend, it coincided with the decision by a previously relatively unknown distributor of track and field equipment to shift their focus to the importation and distribution of small pieces of diverse equipment post 2000.

To facilitate this they funded years of national seminar tours under this very name, and promoted willing ‘experts’ who were taken from unknown to recognizable names in exchange for their willingness to espouse the benefits of ‘functional training’. These newly promoted ‘experts in functional training’ were supported in this exchange with the opportunity to publish books on the subject, despite only years before being violently opposed to the suggestion that multi-joint maximal load exercises (e.g. the power lifts and Olympic lifts) were not optimal options for athlete development.

In order to pre-empt the argument that the presence of the term ‘functional training’ in professional development organization’s training modules and seminars etc. is indicative of it’s validity I suggest you look at who is sponsoring the professional development organizations. Equipment manufacturers and distributors figure prominently.

What is significant about the post 2000 era that is tied to a rise in dysfunction?

Post 2000 saw the proliferation of ‘strength and conditioning’ (I really don’t like using that term however I appreciate readers can relate to it) down the ages. Prior to 2000, in Australia, there were less than a dozen or so individuals that were making the equivalent of a full-time salary.

Post 2000 witnessed a strong progressive increase in demand for these services. By 2010, most high schools in the country had strength and conditioning coach and or their own strength training facility.

The more an athlete participates in physical preparation, including the younger they start in physical preparation, the greater the incidence and severity of injury. Unfortunately these injuries are being blamed away by many involved in sport as being a function of the increased demands and impact forces in ‘modern day’ sport. This to me is little more than an excuse, an exercise in putting one’s head in the proverbial sand. Quite simply, the majority of training programs are flawed from a physical preparation perspective and are causing the increased injuries. [14]

Put simply, the same crappy programs that were bring introduced to adults pre-2000 are now being given to children.

The number of young Australians undergoing knee reconstruction surgery has risen more than 70 per cent in the last 15 years, according to the study published today in the Medical Journal of Australia, with the greatest increase among children under 14…

… Nearly 200,000 ACL reconstructions were performed in Australia between 2000 and 2015. The annual incidence increased by 43 per cent, and by 74 per cent among those under 25 years of age,..[15]

Interestingly, these statistics completely support my repeated references to the period post 2000 as being a period of increased dysfunction and injury.

The only discrepancy with this research article is that their conclusions as to the cause does not include my hypothesis – that the number cause of this sharp increase in injury incidence is more correlated with the introduction of so-called ‘strength and conditioning programs’ into the younger age groups than any other potential contributing variable.

So why do the majority allow these dysfunctions to take hold?

I suggest one of the major contributing factors to this blindness to the creation of dysfunction is that is few understand at a sufficiently appropriate level the mechanisms for optimal systems function, and dysfunction in systems performance. They fail to understand that any changes to the joint gap and or join relationship will negatively impact the nerve and blood supply distally.

In fairness the physical therapy professions have limited ability to predict and prevent injury, the final stage of dysfunction. They have zero ability to identify and prevent the early stages of dysfunction. So is it realistic to expect a physical preparation coach (read ‘strength and conditioning coach’ if you need to) to be able to do so?

However I am less interested in what is reasonable for our industry standards currently. I am more interested in what’s best for the end user. And being guided to train to degraded systems function is not what clients/athletes sign up for. But that is what they are getting.

Conclusion

Quite simply what you and everyone else is doing is creating dysfunction. The only difference or question is when will this become apparent? Will you or your client be that exception that survives? Or will your client or yourself be another statistic of unfulfilled potential and or injury?

I understand that this is difficult to accept, and it is much easier to criticize the concept and move on. You can do this, however your body does not lie. If you are creating dysfunction in yourself and or your client/s it will come out one day.

Most of the concepts I published in the 1990s are now universally accepted. Not all – yet – but most. And if this is not apparent to you, this is in part a reflection of the acceptance of low standards of publishing especially in the US where plagiarism in the ‘new frontier’ has been rampant.

Everything I teach will come to pass. Whether in my life-time or after is the only question. The only question that really matters is whether you will take advantage of the concepts I share, or whether you will put your head in the sand (figuratively speaking) and hope I am off-track.

I publish challenging and disruption concepts such as this to give you an opportunity to benefit now. I understand that most of you will choose not to. That is your prerogative. I look forward to studying the long term adaptations from which ever path you choose.

The first thing I recommend you determine is this – is anything you are doing or omitting to do in your training creating an injury? What I am saying is eliminate the self-inflicted injury potential first, as this is the one you have the most control over! [16]

 

References

[1] An original concept which I trust fares better than many of my earlier concepts in terms of receiving appropriate referencing.

[2] King, I., 1997, Winning & Losing, King Sports International, Ch 5, p. 25

[3] King, I., 2004, Get Buffed!™ III, King Sports International, p. 8-9

[4] King, I., 2005, The Way of the Physical Preparation Coach, King Sports International p. 66

[5] King, I., 2010, Barbells & Bullshit, King Sports International, p. 100,

[6] You won’t see the word ‘research shows’ so you have great justification already. There I have given you your excuse, so don’t waste my time with troll-like responses about the lack of science. If anyone chooses to disregard my four decades of processing more bodies elite athletes than anyone you are likely to meet that’s fine by me. However if you are an end user, you might want to keep reading because at least you won’t have a professional ego to protect, and my message could really save you a lot of grief.

[7] King, I., 2000, Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation Series, Disc 1

[8] King, I., 2002, Get Buffed!™ (book), p. 102

[9] King, I., 2003, Ask the Master, p. 87

[10] King, I., 1999, So you want to become a physical preparation coach, p. 30-31

[11] King, I., 2004, Get Buffed!™ III, King Sports International, p. 8-9

[12] King, I., 2005, The Way of the Physical Preparation Coach, King Sports International p. 66

[13] King, I., 2003, Out of Kilter III – End needless knee pain!, t-mag.com, 28 Nov 2003

[14] King, I., 2005, The way of the physical preparation coach, p. 66-67

[15] https://www.msn.com/en-au/health/medical/acl-reconstructions-up-more-than-70-per-cent-among-young-australians-study-finds/ar-AAwbKpY?li=AAgfDNO&ocid=mailsignout

[16] King, I., 2003, Ask the Master, p. 87

Ian King

Ban the band!

/by

During a workout the national league, former scholarship holding Div. 1 NCAA athlete from a championship winning team asked ‘Ian, I notice you don’t use bands with me in any exercises. Why do most strength coaches use bands and you don’t?’

I pondered a moment and then said ‘Because the world is brain dead.’

A bit harsh, but I wanted to get my point across.

Now this athlete is very cerebral and not only deserved a more complete answer, but had a thirst for knowledge. The lack of satisfactory explanations to similar questions posed to their previous strength and conditioning coaches had been a source of frustration.

So I took a deep breath, collected my thoughts, and begun one of those very brief but intense summaries you give to athletes with inquiring minds.

IK: ‘Okay, this is a bit of a longer explanation but you deserve it!…..Let me ask you – what exercises have you mainly used bands on?

Athlete: Oh, things like the exercise you call ‘External leg rotations’, but others call clamshells. Or the external arm rotations. Exercises like that.

IK: Okay, so mostly control drills, a concept I introduced to the world in the 1990s[2] to provide a pre-training activation of the muscles and an injury prevention insurance policy by increasing volume in small muscles.

The stretch should be followed by a series of control drills for the joints and muscles to be trained in the workout. [3] … I include 2-4 low volume/low intensity ‘control’ drills at the start of EVERY workout, aimed at reducing the muscle imbalance in the muscle groups to be trained on that day. This is part of my injury prevention ‘insurance’ policy… [4] Control drills by my definition include any exercises that focus primarily on selective recruitment and quality of the movement, as opposed to the load lifted or reps performed That is, a qualitative focus rather than a quantitative focus…[5]

IK: Let me ask you a question – when you start each rep in most exercsies, do you feel at your strongest point or not?

Athlete: Ah, no, most exercises I am not the strongest at the start of the rep.

IK: And that’s normal – it’s called the ‘strength or force curve’ – the amount of force you can produce at the start of the exercise is usually low, then what happens next?

Athlete: I feel a bit stronger as I come up through the rep.

IK: Excellent. Then what happens next?

Athlete: I feel I get a bit weaker towards the end.

IK: Wow, you are sharp! That’s a great explanation for most joint force curves – you start weak, get stronger, then get weaker. Now let me ask – when you start the rep with a band does the resistance start low?

Athlete: Yes, it’s at its easiest point at the start.

IK: Excellent. Then as you come through the movement what happens to the resistance?

Athlete: It’s get harder.

IK: Excellent. Then what happens next?

Athlete: Then I guess it gets really hard towards the end as the band is getting more stretched.

IK: Exactly! Now is this your strongest point or are you getting weaker towards the end of the movement in most cases?

Athlete: I am usually getting weaker.

IK: Great! So does the resistance offered match the force curve?

Athlete: No, it doesn’t.

IK: Can you finish off the rep with excellent technique or do you tend to cheat to get it done?

Athlete: I need to cheat to finish the rep.

IK: So how does that fit in with say my focus on technique and avoiding technique breakdown, especially with control drills?

Athlete: It wouldn’t! Okay, I see now why you don’t use bands!

With that, we went back to training.

Now I am going to extend the discussion for you, as I assume you are not working out as you read! Now of course I need to state that if you don’t like what I am about to say, you can stop reading. Or, you can read on. Now if you don’t have room in your mind for a different perspective, you can of course just ignore it and go back to doing what everyone else is doing – and we need the 90% to do what the 90% do because that’s just the way it is – or you can throw a tantrum and hurl abuse at me – the comment section is below – go for it, I’m pretty used to those affected with the ‘who moved my cheese’ phenomenon!

So for those still with me, I return to my insights….yes, just an opinion based on a little bit of experience….and a keen innovative mind that no matter how much the trolls are pissed off with me, chances are they are already using one or more of my innovations without even realizing it!

(That reminds me of Minny’s lines in the movie ‘The Help’ – “you just ate my xxxx….”[6])

In the 1960s and 1970s, either through a genuine desire to find a better way or for commercial purposes, some sought a ‘superior’ loading alternative to free weights, earlier referred to as ‘isotonic movements’ – the use of eccentric and concentric contractions with a constant load.

Universal released their lever machines, trademarked ‘Dynamic Variable Resistance’ (DVR), proposing the superior training effect. They failed to truly match the force curve and this fell by the way.

Arthur Jones came along in the 1970s and 1980s with the off-set nautilus cam shell shaped pulley system trademarked Nautilus. Really nice equipment, and the off-set cam pulley system got closer than Universal did to matching the joint force curve, but still fell short.

Arthur and his off-spring continued to contribute to the search for optimal resistance modalities, through Medex, Hammer Strength etc.

Isokinetic and semi-isokinetic devices chimed in, all providing alternatives to isotonic exercises, and variety in training.

So why did was it that took us back about half a century and sees athlete’s around the world using resistance options such as bands where the resistance rises in a linear fashion, arguably even less appropriate to the human force curve than isotonic fixed load resistance?

Now perhaps you have a greater affinity for my initial word selection regarding humans being brain dead? Okay, that may be asking too much!

So why are bands so popular? I have three possible answers.

Firstly they are undeniably convenient and cost effective. However when did training to be the best in your conference, best in the nation, and or the best in the world come down to convenience? In other words I can understand why some general population clientele may resort to them especially on road trips. However I don’t believe this is a solid justification for the proliferation of this resistance mode.

Secondly, they are well marketed. In the post 2001 recession response the US fitness industry market turned it’s attention to smaller devices, devices that not only carried lower risk for the manufacturer, importer, distributor and facility owners, but potentially had a higher percentage margin. The promotion of the concept of ‘functional training’ was not without coincidence, rather suggest driven by a market shift toward small cost equipment. And bands are simply part of this market shift. Suffice to say, the promotion of training methods connected to equipment (e.g. foam rollers, bands etc.) rose, whilst the promotion of training methods sans (devoid of) equipment (e.g. stretching) was suppressed.

Thirdly, I come back to brain dead humans. Humans not wiling or able to use the grey matter they were blessed with. Earl Nightingale in his must –listen-to 1956 audio record ‘The Strangest Secret’[7] quoted the wise Dr. Albert Schweitzer responding to a reporter when asked in a circa 1950 press conference “What’s wrong with men today?” After a brief pause he said, ”The trouble with men today is that they simply don’t think.” Not much has changed I suggest!

In conclusion, yes, there is justification for the use of all resistance modes in various cases. However I suggest the current use of bands is inconsistent with this justification. Whilst I was a bit cheeky with my title ‘ban the band’, I am comfortable suggesting you at least reflect on this resistance option before imposing it upon you trusting clients or athletes.

The challenge is not in knowing what is right and wrong. The challenge is to develop the ability to think, to be able to discern if an exercise or training method is appropriate for any given person at any given time, irrespective of and often despite it’s current popularity. This is my hope for you.

References

[1] You know, the ones who are 10/10 on bravery when they’re posting from their basement whom a psychologist would have a field day seeking to unravel the personal hurt they have suffered in life that leaves them in so much pain they want to pass that pain on to complete strangers

[2] King, I., 1999, Get Buffed! (book), p. 118

[3] King, I., 1999, Get Buffed! (book), p. 118

[4] King, I., 1999, Get Buffed! (book), p. 123

[5] King, I., 2002, Get Buffed! II (book), p. 137

[6] “Minny: “Eat my shit.”

Hilly: “Excuse me?”

Minny: “I said eat…my…shit.”

Hilly: “Have you lost your mind?”

Minny: “No ma’am, but you about to, cause you just did.”

*Minny eyes the pie*

Hilly: “Did…What?”

*Minny eyes pie again, Missus Walters gasping and laughing, Hilly eyes pie then gags and runs off*

Missus Walters: “And you didn’t just eat one, you ate TWO slices!”

*Minny runs off*

Missus Walters: “RUN, MINNY, RUUN!!”

*She says this while laughing*”

[7] https://www.nightingale.com/articles/the-strangest-secret/

Ian King

How Can I Get More Clients?

/by

Any service-based business is constantly looking for new clients and being a trainer is no different. If you Google search this subject you will find the usual solutions being promoted, as discussed in ‘What’s holding you back as a personal trainer’ blog article – ‘get more qualifications’, ‘build your CV’, ‘market yourself’ etc. Including the suggestion that if you buy ‘system in a box’ (e.g. email scripts) you can build your online business because ‘online personal training is the next big thing in fitness’.

Let me be straight – if you are incompetent and can’t fill your client list you are still going to be incompetent online.

Let’s talk about real solutions for increasing your client numbers. To begin lets understand why your current clients train with you.

Why do your current clients really train with you?

Here’s a reality check for you – ask yourself why current clients train with you. You can even ask them. Now put aside the answers and consider this.

Firstly, imagine telling them you are moving your training away by say 10 miles. How many are going to say ‘That’s no problems, I will just drive to you each session!’. Now imagine telling them you are moving your training base 20 miles away, then 30 miles away. How many clients do you have left?

Now start the game all over again, and instead of telling them (or imagining telling them!) that you are moving, tell them you have raised your rates by 10%.How many are saying ‘Good on you! You are worth it! I am excited to stay with you at that rate!’ Now imagine telling them you are raising your rates by 20%? Then 30%? How many clients do you have left?

Now you may be the exception to the rule, because when I have run this with most trainers they quickly realize that….people chose to train with you because you are convenient and cheap….

Now understand that if this reason for training you does not change, you are competing with the other 300,000 (or whatever your country numbers are) who are also perceived as convenient and cheap by their clients. Not much of a Unique Marketing Position (UMP)…..

What are some of the common mistakes trainers make that may be holding them back from getting more clients?

In addition to believing they certificate, CV or market themselves beyond their level of competence, here are some of the common mistakes trainers make in their attempts to raise their client numbers.

1. Talking features not benefits – the training profession is on that loves to associate with science, facts and figures, and big multi-syllable words. Very few clients share this love. Most of this infatuation with with science, facts and figures, and big multi-syllable words comes from the desire to and misguided belief in the importance of impressive colleagues. There’s some significant differences between impressing your colleagues and impressing your clients. For starters, your colleague is not hiring you – your client it.

There are on the other hand massive benefits of sharing the benefits for the individual of whatever you are talking about, as opposed to sharing the features. They have less interest in what happened to a group of under-graduate students in the research sample during an 8 week period, and a lot more interest in what it might do to them over years.

2. Buying into prescription not process – there is an academic and western-world belief that ‘we know’ how to train someone. This is called a prescriptive approach That if you do x, y will occur. How do we know? Because that is what the research said….. or because EVERYONE is using that training method/equipment/exercise (read trend) at the moment…

There are cultures fortunately that have promoted the ‘process’ approach to training. That a training plan is an educated guess that needs to be tweaked daily in response to lessons we learn about the cause-effect relationship of that protocol on that person. It is not assumptive, rather it is focused on objectively assessing the training effect and being willing to change direction.

Clients are not stupid. They can work out if you are treating them like an individual and applying the ‘process’ approach or if you are treating them just like an average and applying the ‘prescriptive’ approach.

3. Failing communication 101 – If you are going to go down the process path you need information. Information comes from the client – the words they say, the body they present, their history etc. The communication goal is to have them provide that information, initially through a series of well-constructed intentional questions.

This art of communication takes time and guidance to develop. What a competent coach can ascertain in a very short period of time will shock the average trainer – if they ever got into a position to hear the dialogue.

Once the questions are asked, the next challenge is to listen. To ultimately speak less than the client. To fulfill the saying  …you have 2 ears and 1 mouth – there’s a reason for that!

4. Generic programming instead of individualized programming – every person is unique, different. They know that. So why do trainers give everyone the same workouts when they should have totally unique programs? Now changing the name on the top of the program sheet does not qualify for individualization! Nor does changing the sequence of the exercises or even substituting one or more exercises out or in.

Programming is the plan your client will follow. It will shape their training effects. Will your ability to individualize programs be enhanced by higher qualifications? It would be nice if it did, but in four decades of professional observation that has not been what I’ve seen. Will building your CV help you individualize your programs? No. Will marketing yourself or marketing yourself more effectively enhance your ability to individualize programs? No.

So how do you get more clients?

Here’s my answer for you, and it’s got nothing to do with more qualifications, more marketing or CV building.

Without going out of your way, in the organic movements of your life, you will come upon people who have physical challenges, and who are looking to solve those physical challenges. Using your newfound focus on listening and communication, upon identifying these people you ask them if they would like you to help them.

No, you are not soliciting them as a client, so don’t get this confused!

If they agree work within their time frame. In a social setting you may have 5 minutes. In a more one on one chat you may have 15 minutes. Whatever you have, this is your time frame to do what I call a ‘show and tell’.

A show and tell is a window of opportunity you have to show a person how much value can add to their life by solving their challenges, by providing an effective solution. By giving them the clear impression of increase that you are able to do things no-one else can. That you are the only game in town.

Then you walk away. Figuratively, at least. You are not going to, I repeat, solicit them or look to ‘close’ the deal’.

If you are effective however, they will chase you, step over the line towards you. Now you have the foundations of a great client relationship because they have discovered your value. They are looking to hire you because of the value you an add, not because you are cheap and convenient!

Let’s say you go and do ten of these ‘show and tell’s’. And let’s say you get no or little client sign ups. There’s a message in that – you need to get better. Not get more qualifications, not get a better CV, not get better at marketing – get better at adding value in very short period of time. Get better at demonstrating the value you bring to the market place.

Conclusion

The ‘show and tell’ strategy is not only the NUMBER ONE client-recruiting tool; it is also the number one diagnostic tool on your progress in value added

So lets say six months ago you were converting one out of 10 of your show and tells. Now you are converting three out of ten. That’s progress!

So where are you going to learn how to master the art of adding real value in a short period of time? In addition to practice, the fastest way is to learn from someone who has mastered it and willing to teach it!

How many clients do you need to grow an incredible training business? One. Provided the value you add is so significant that this one person is compelled to refer their friends, family and colleagues to you. This is the power of the most powerful marketing method in service-based professions – world of mouth or referral-based marketing. Not only is referral-based marketing the best way to grow a business, it is the best way to qualify clients.

You just need two things – the willingness to identify people who are looking for solutions, and the competency to impress upon them that you are the one to provide the solution. And until you achieve the second item – the willingness to embrace any lack of competency and a willingness to find a way to change, to improve your competence.

Ian King

The Personal Trainers Challenge “How to Stand Out in a Crowded Market”

/by

This article is written for those personal trainers who want to stand out in the market place, who want to get ahead, rise above the masses, and reap the rewards from doing so.  It’s not an easy task. At least, not if you apply the solutions that most go to in attempts to create their Unique Marketing Position (UMP). It get’s a lot easier if you understand one key thing!

In the US alone, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,[1] there are over 300,000 personal trainers and gym instructors. And that’s not including the other disciplines within physical preparation e.g. strength and conditioning coaches.

After all, the role of a personal trainer (PT) is the current go-to for anyone not sure of what to do with their life, or waiting for that big acting breakthrough!

So how do you stand out in this incredibly crowded market? And do many succeed?

 

If we were to equate higher income with successfully standing out, you would have to say that few achieve this. Again according to the US BLS[2] only the highest 10 percent earned more than $72,980. That’s not much money, and not many people earning it.

So what are Personal Trainers doing that for the most part is contributing to their failure to stand out in the market, contributing to their inability to rise above their competition.

To sum it up simply – they are failing because their solution is to copy what the majority are doing!!

 

There is a saying in the Australian military about ‘monkey see, monkey do’. In other words, the average ‘grunt’ (infantry soldier) is conditioned to mimic whatever they see their instructors or leaders do.  Safe solution in war preparation, but how does it work out in a competitive capitalistic environment – when every a soldier, every step you take isn’t necessarily the last one you might take on two legs!

In other words whilst we owe so much to the military for it’s contribution to the physical preparation industry (ever wonder why the shoulder press is called a military press?) we are not bound to operate on their solutions. We can and SHOULD look to be different – especially if we want a different outcome!!!

 

Look at it this way. If you do it the way everyone else is doing it – all things being equal, how are you going to be better than everyone else?  Realistically changes do occur (albeit slowly) in sport training – because someone dared to do it differently.  These people gain the advantage, are at the cutting edge.  The sheep follow.  Which do you want to be? [3]

 

So what exactly are the majority doing?

 

Monkey-see Monkey-do Step #1 – Abandon Individualized Program Design

What happens on day one for most personal training clients? They get a workout done.  How does that happen so fast? I mean at the longest most clients are into a workout within an hour.  At most a canned assessment, a generic program (or the more common go to – just make up the exercises as you go!)

I know, some of you want to debate this with me. You claim you and ALL the trainers in your facility go through an extensive program design session with each client! Let me ask it this way and see how respond – how much are and your colleagues being paid for your program design services? Now an honest response for the majority would be nothing, zero, nada. Say no more….

If you were highly competent and experienced (and that’s an if…) it should take you between one to three hours of interview, assessment and program design – all paid for by the client – BEFORE they got near a workout!

 

Monkey-see Monkey-do Step #2 – The 60 minute workout

Now I know there is a program on TV called ’60 minutes’, but why do the majority of personal training client workouts globally take 60 minutes? Is it possible that 99.9% of the clients have the same needs? Ah, I don’t think so!

So why are you using 60 minute workouts? I can only conclude that you are doing this because that is what everyone else is doing (and that is where the monkey see-monkey do cuts in!

And the other reason is because it is convenient for you to plan your billable hours. However it is in the best interests of the client? And how is it possible that all of them have such similar needs that they all end up doing a 60 minute workout?

In the KSI way, we take whatever time is needed for each individual on any given day!

 

Monkey-see Monkey-do Step #3 – The 7 Step Workout! 

Now in addition to every client coincidentally finding  a 60 minute workout ‘optimal’, how amazing it that the majority of the clients have such similar needs that they all end up on the latest dominant trend pumped out in the latest round of fitness industry seminars!

Lately it’s been the 7-step workout! Isn’t it amazing that everyone has the same needs? Now imagine if you as a trainer were to discover that everyone is different, and you were to break out (some would suggest break down!) and provide unique workout components to different clients!

In the KSI Coaching Program we teach you how to do this – train individuals as, well, individuals!

 

Monkey-see Monkey-do Step #4 – Multi-planar, multi-joint, closed kinetic chain exercises

Simplistic thinking where concepts such as ‘all your exercises need to be multi-planar and compound (multi-joint) and closed kinetic chain (feet on the ground) and killing the results for your clients! This subject is worth an article on itself – or maybe more than one!

Leave this simplistic brain dead thinking to the masses. You can and should think for yourself. It’s pretty scary to think that after we released this spoof we actually had viewers contacting us who took the skit seriously!

Now we recognize it may not be easy. After all, the commercial interests that pull the strings in this industry (e.g. equipment manufacturers and distributors) have some strong conforming measures in place!

The KSI Coaching Program aims to teach you to think for yourself!

 

Monkey-see Monkey-do Step #5 – Ban the good stuff!

 Its hard to fathom how anyone who exercised their ability to assess the cause-effect relationship of a certain type of training such as stretching would reach the current dominant paradigm that is so negative about this training method.

It’s no wonder injuries are skyrocketing!

 

But that is what EVERYONE else is doing!  Which makes it so simple for you to get superior results with your clients. Now thankfully they suffer less from conformity than you and the physical preparation community does!

This same ‘brain-dead’ conformity leads trainers to give band exercises out – which provide a form of resistance that outside of someone on a Himalayan trek really shouldn’t be doing!!!

That’s right – ban the good stuff, give them the crappy stuff! That’s how you stay ordinary and maintain the statistical average!

Our goal is to help you use your God given grey matter resulting in greater outcomes for your clients!

It’s so simple, so easy, to rise above your 300,000 colleagues!

 

Your Unique Marketing Position (UMP) or Unique Sales Position (USP)

Many in sales and marketing talk about your UMP or USP, basically what is it about you that stands you out in the market places, allows you to out-perform your competition.

It’s pretty tough to have a UMP (or USP) when you service your clients just like everyone else does!

 

Give you a hint – if what I teach is what the majority do, I would be very concerned. I want to do what few do, to get a competitive advantage. [4]

 

And no, getting your hair dyed, getting more ink, or getting more body piercings is not my idea of a successful UMP!

In the higher levels of the KSI Coaching Program we focus extensively on helping you develop your USP, and tracking the success of this over a multi-year period through markers such as hourly rate, client numbers etc.

One of the key personal development lessons we provide is the willingness to be different, to withstand the peer pressures to conform!

 

Resist the temptation in program design to conform to mainstream paradigms simply for the sake of conforming, no matter how dogmatically they are presented, or how much you may be ridiculed or ostracized for trusting your intuition over conformity. Make our own minds up based on a combination of respect for your intuition, the athlete/client’s intuition, the results, and in respect of the body of knowledge available. [5]

 

Conclusion

I would have liked to have called this article ‘If you want to stop getting paid peanuts, stop acting like a monkey’, but I wasn’t sure if the message would be lost by expressions ‘that’s offensive!’ in this politically correct world!

So if you want to rise above the other 300,000 plus of your colleagues (or whatever the number in your country) then you need to understand this simple concept – the majority receive what the majority receive because they are training their clients just like the majority.

Which is like what exactly? Brain dead. No thinking. Just blind imitation and a burning desire to be like everyone else.

And the importance of this theory? Quite simply, that if you do so little as be different – think for yourself, treat your clients like individuals, make up your own mind about what to do and what is best – you will succeed in rising above the masses, in standing out from your competition!

 

 

[1] https://www.bls.gov/ooh/personal-care-and-service/fitness-trainers-and-instructors.htm

[2] https://www.bls.gov/ooh/personal-care-and-service/fitness-trainers-and-instructors.htm#tab-5

[3] King, I., 1997, Winning and Losing, p. 30

[4] King, I., 2003, Ask the Master, (book) p. 32

[5] King, I.., 2005, The way of the physical preparation coach (book), p. 17

Ian King

What’s holding YOU back as a trainer?

/by

Even been in a place in your career where you wonder why you are not getting where you wanted to go as a trainer? If any of the following apply, you probably should be asking this question – I don’t have enough clients; I don’t get paid enough; I am not sure or confident of my future in this industry, etc. Now if you’ve had the courage to recognize the limitations and ask the question ‘What’s holding me back?’ the next challenge is finding the answer!

Not sure where the weakness is? Is it my qualifications? Do I lack experience? Is it the city I live in? Am I not buffed enough? If you have ever had these questions you are not alone! Should I get more ink? If so arm or leg? Left or right side? (Yes, the last question – the one about the ‘ink’ – or tattoos – is my Aussie humor!)

Ever since getting paid to train another person became a reality (generally speaking during the 1980s) I’ve been helping trainers, instructors, coaches – whatever your job title – find the answers. As I entered the industry in 1980 I was in a position where I became established before anyone knew what I was doing. (Which gave me the experience to write my professional guidance books after some 20 years experience, ‘So You want to Become a….’.)

Take this question for example that I got from a struggling Los Angeles based trainer in the late 1990s:

I have read “So you want to become…” [book] thoroughly. While I agree with your statements it is easier for you with an established record to attract new clients than it is for an “outsider” like me to break in. The reason I’m asking is to see where my weaknesses are – what is holding me back in other words as I’m failing to identify it somehow. I don’t think it is qualifications – I have a bundle – and I don’t think its training experience – I have lots of that…..

I believe just about everyone has this question at some stage of his or her career.

So what are the most commonly looked at solutions? What are the most common mistakes? And what are some of my suggestions for you?

‘GO-TO’ SOLUTIONS

From what I have seen the top 3 most common ‘go-to’ solutions in our industry include:

#1 – Get higher-level qualifications or more certifications

If you have a diploma, get a bachelors degree. If you have a degree, get your masters degree. If you have your maters degree, get your PhD. Or do more short courses with more and different people. Add letters to your name.

Does this work? Yes, it can if you are looking for a job. If you are self-employed, potential clients don’t pay much if any attention to it. I could count on one hand the number of athletes who in four decades have asked what qualifications I have!

I say ‘it can’, in relation to ‘does it work’, because I have seen it work. I have also seen it not work. In my opinion it doesn’t make you a better coach – but it can get you a job.

#2 – Build your C-V

Building your C-V is another popular and potentially effective way to get more work. Provided you are after a job. Here’s how it works. You target a team or job, and hang around there. You get to know the people, you become liked, and you suck up to the decision makers. You exploit the reality that most appointments are decided upon before they are advertised, and it’s someone’s friend. ‘You’ be that person.

Then you take that C-V with that team/athletes name on it, and you leverage it into a higher profile team or individual. And you keep going until you have the best C-V in the market!

Does this work? Absolutely! At least in the short term. Can they coach? That’s pretty irrelevant in this strategy!

#3 – Market Yourself Better

A lot of new entrants into the industry are keen to learn how to market themselves, including on the internet. This is an option, however there are a few things to consider before going down this road.

One of the challenges I suggest you consider before choosing to play in this ‘sandpit’ is the need to understand you are marketing in a profession where the cultural values are that its okay and normal to tell lies to sell yourself. Here’s an example:

The reality is that the lies in fitness far outweigh the truths. …Here’s my premise. It’s OK to tell a lie if you know that it’s a lie… Once a personal trainer or performance specialist knows the truth then, they can tell a little white lie to make the sale or to get the client on board.

Now let me be clear – I don’t agree with or endorse the belief expressed above. It’s not my paradigm or values, however it is  from a productive marketer in the industry and therefore it would have had some influence on integrity in the industry.

How are you going to compete in that stinky pond? Tell bigger lies? Get more insights on this challenge in my recent blog ‘Coaching in the Fakebook Era’.

SO WHERE ARE TRAINERS GOING WRONG? (The most common mistakes)

There are two key mistakes made by trainers looking to get past sticking points in their career. Firstly, the point I call ‘jamming a square post in a round hole’. The second is missing the key ingredient.

#1 Jamming a square post in a round hole

Remember the struggling LA based trainer who couldn’t work out what was holding him back? His stated (and yes it was even in writing!) goal was:

To gain a full time professional strength and conditioning position with a professional sports organization or high level training facility.

What were the chances of him attracting athletes? Ah, let me think about that for a moment….Ah…none!

Let’s get this clear – athletes are no better than anyone else, and training athlete’s doesn’t make you any better than anyone else. It’s a common error for so many to want to train athletes because this role has been incorrectly placed on a pedestal!

This trainer was far more suited to the general population, including the fat loss market, where the rules are loose and people are more likely to buy into a ‘story’ – in other words the goals are subjective and the methods to achieve them many.

Why do I say this trainer was more suited to general population? Every market segment has unique traits. Athletes, for example – and especially elite athletes – value discipline, delayed gratification, focus, effort, determination and so on. How much of these qualities did this trainer have? Ah….not much.

Ask yourself – is the target client I am chasing one that resonates with me? Be authentic! Take a path congruent with who you really are and the kind of person that you might inspire. Be yourself. What client sub-group wants more of who and what you are, stand for and have? Any short term ‘success’ from faking or forcing yourself (the post) into an environment (the post hole) will quickly dissolve and those faking it are more than they are ultimately end back at their competence level.

#2 Missing the key ingredient

In about the 1960s a young man said to his mentor ‘Look, this is all the company pays!’, complaining about his paycheck.

To which the mentor replied: “No that is all the company pays YOU!’

The message shared by the late Jim Rohn about his interactions with his mentor Earl Shoaff (in addition to the power of having a mentor!) tell us that what you are getting paid is not what your industry pays. It is simply what your industry pays you!

This applies to all aspects of typical frustration – your client numbers, your client cancellations, your clients reliance on you to be their motivator, your income….

So what’s the missing ingredient? Value. You get paid for the VALUE you bring to the market. Value is measured in the amount of help you give and the number of people you give this amount of value to.

Yes, something is holding you back. Remember – in the words of the wise Jim Rohn:

Don’t take your needs to the market place. Bring your value instead.

…because…

Service to many leads to greatness – great respect, great satisfaction!

The question is….how exactly do you ‘bring your value’ to the market?

 

Author’s note

The training concepts I developed were developed on athletes, however during the last four decades it’s become very clear that they are equally effective on all humans. In fact I suggest that the elite athlete arena is an excellent testing ground for training theories and concepts. Coaches in the KSI Coaching Program come from all walks of life and apply the KSI way to all types of clients. The KSI way is not limited to athletes, nor are our coaches limited to working with athletes.

Ian King

There is a better way – Part 6: For whose benefit

/by

The coach said to the team –

‘Now I want you to win. Because it makes me look better.’

A few weeks later, in a different sport but with the same athlete, a coach said to the team –

‘Now if some of you are wondering why you didn’t get any game time, I want to remind you – we are playing to win.’

The sample group in reference was 15-17 year olds, playing in late specialization sports. They were a decade away from the potential career peak.

Was this coincidental or reflective of the extent of this value set? I have my thoughts on this.

The concept of ‘long term athlete development’ is now widely known. Few know about the people behind the concept, due to the low level of ethical referencing in this industry, but most will be able to share with you their understanding of ‘LTAD’, in a hip kind of trendy term way.

That’s great, but something is missing, because the talk of long term athlete development is nothing more than lip service.

Either the masses of coaches who claim they are familiar with the concept are not, or they simply don’t respect it.

Because when the coach is ‘playing to win’ with 16 year olds in a late specialization sport, or when the coach is calling upon the athletes to win to boost their coaching credentials, it raises the question – whose benefit is this for?

There was a time when the concept of long term athlete development was known by few. That was not that long ago, as the popularity of this concept has been a post 2000 phenomenon. Yet during this period of ‘ignorance’ I believe coaches and coaching was more enlightening, with a greater chance of the athletes needs coming first.

So how did we get to a point when everyone knows the words, but few demonstrate a true knowledge or respect of the concept?

In the late 1980s and early 1990s one the groups I was working with was the Canadian ski team. The locations we would go into camp were varied, but one thing remained constant – the team Sports Science Director would visit with me multiple times a day, excitedly showing me his latest conceptual development or research discovery, including a concept he was working on at that time – a model for long term athletic development.

His name was Istvan Balyi, a former Hungarian Olympian turned Canadian sports scientist. The work he developed went on to be the most influential model of long-term periodization in the western world during the last two decades.

In essence, and in the simpler earlier version, the model suggested a number of stages in the career of the athlete, and only in the final or latter stage was ‘playing to win’ the priority!

  1. FUNdamentals – where fun based activities developed the fundamentals of athleticism
  2. Training to train – where the athlete trained for the primary purpose of developing the qualities that are derived from training and getting used to training.
  3. Training to Compete – where the athletes training and competition focus was on getting used to competing.
  4. Training to Win – the final stage, at the peak of their career, where the athletes training and games were focused primarily on what needs to be done to win – in the now.

The first three phases of this simplistic interpretation reinforce that all is being done for the delayed gratification of winning at the peak of the athletes career. Despite most coaches of age groups ‘knowing’ this concept, most are implementing the final stage where the primary focus is to win, at the three earlier stages! Even educational institutions who provide a long term athlete development plan in writing fail to do what they say they are doing.

You can learn more about Istvan’s works in his book ‘Long Term Athlete Development’ available on various online websites.   Istvan deserves to have his work learnt from the source, and the publisher, Human Kinetics, deserves credit for being the only North American publisher to my knowledge who has made an effort to reference and credit my material in their publication

I say to the coach who told his players to win for his benefit (to enhance his coaching resume), and to the coach who told his mid-teens that some of them would not step off the reserve bench because they were ‘playing to win’, and all coaches who recognize they may share similar values or habits – to reflect upon and review their coaching strategy.

And if they cannot embrace alternatives where the needs of the athlete come first, consider another pursuit other than sports coaching.

Because there is a better way, and athletes deserve to be given every opportunity to fulfill their athletic potential.

 

Note:

For those athletes and coaches who are concerned about the direction of training and want to believe there is a better way – congratulations. There is a better way. We have spend the last four decades discovering better ways to train, and we teach these better ways when we work with athletes or coaches. The KSI Coaching Program aims to provide you with the tools to train athletes and others in their highest and best interests, with no interest in what the dominant trend is or will be in the future. Learn more about KSI Coach Education here https://kingsports.net/courses/

Ian King

There is a better way – Part 5: There’s more to athlete preparation than ‘strength & conditioning’

/by

Physical preparation in athlete preparation is over-rated.

Its obvious that few share my belief, considering the amount of focus and effort going into physical development globally. I learnt from my professional experience in North America in the late 1980’s and early 1990s that their culture placed a (potentially excessive) premium on physical development. That cultural value is now global, courtesy of the internet.

The model I ascribe to – and teach – for athlete development states there are four (4) components – technical (skill), tactical (tactics), psychological and physical. After based on my four decades of professional experience, I have concluded that (generally speaking) physical development is the least important of them all.

Only in junior sport will a physical advantage at the expense of the development of the other three athlete preparation qualities provide a superior, temporary sport performance advantage. And the athlete in their long-term success, which will be reduced for doing so, pays the price for this.

Now saying ‘physical development is over-rated’ is a tough thing for me to say, especially as doing just that – physical development – has put food on my table for the bulk of my adult life. However I came into this profession to help athletes be successful in sport, not to help them become physical successful per se.

Put simply athletes are spending too much time in the gym and not enough time in skill (technical) and tactical (tactics) development.

Now to make things worse…

The model I ascribe to (and teach) for physical development states there are four (4) components – flexibility, strength, speed and endurance. After based on my four decades of professional experience, I have concluded that (generally speaking) strength is NOT the most important of them all.

But you would not know that, because an increasing percent of physical training time globally in sport is being dedicated to strength development.

So how did we get to this point? In the 1960s strength training in sports was virtually non-existent. In the 1970s it began to raise its head in sport, especially in strength sports such as US college (American) football (gridiron).

One of the leading western world physical preparation professional bodies, the National Strength Coaches Association (NSCA), grew out of this growing movement – football strength coaches at US colleges.

A study of history shows the limits of this association. Strength training was missing, and that is what the NSCA provided. By the time they realized they have overlooked other physical qualities, all they could do was substitute the word ‘conditioning’ for the word ‘coach’, and have to change the acronym NSCA. To this day, their content is reflective of the origin – a heavy bias towards strength training with very little focus on the other physical qualities .

By the 1980s, whilst not as popular as fitness training in the broader society, strength training was being sought out by a growing number of sports (which I where I got my start in sport).

During the 1990s strength training gained acceptance globally – both in sport and the general population.

By now the void had been filled. Strength training was no longer deficient. However in true human ‘over-reaction’ style, we just kept going. In the post 2000 period too much emphasis is being placed on strength.

Now, to drill deeper, not only are we seeing an over-emphasis on strength training, the strength training being conduced is significantly flawed. More on this another day….

So what gave way to allow the extra time for strength training? Playing the sport (skill development), and flexibility training – which ironically (for myself and the values I teach) are THE MOST important athletic and physical qualities respectively….

I was introduced to stretching in high school sport. Half a century later, at the same school, I would be now exposed to less stretching.

Half a century ago I engaged in a sporadic self-driven participation in the strength training gym. It wasn’t organized, and few attended.

Now, at the same school, the strength program is compulsory for all athletes in all sports. If a student athlete does not attend the strength training program for that team, the young athlete is denied selection.

At high school half a century ago my spare time was used up playing kids-organized pick up games. Now, I would not have time to engage in this unstructured, skill-based training. I would instead be at the gym meeting and exceeding the new expectations that athleticism is more effectively developed in the weight room.

So I am not speaking hypothetically. I am speaking as I see it, including a very personal case study using the same high school half a century apart.

So we have potentially given up the two most important qualities of athletic and physical preparation for one quality that is not the most important….

How is that serving us athletically or health wise?

Is this situation likely to reverse? Not in the foreseeable future. Not whilst the trend is towards every high school in the western world having their own full-time ‘strength & conditioning’ coach. Not while the dominant belief is that all there is to athlete preparation is ‘strength & conditioning’.

Hopefully, one day….the world will realize again – that this is more to athlete preparation than ‘strength & conditioning’….

 

Note:

For those athletes and coaches who are concerned about the direction of training and want to believe there is a better way – congratulations. There is a better way. We have spend the last four decades discovering better ways to train, and we teach these better ways when we work with athletes or coaches. The KSI Coaching Program aims to provide you with the tools to train athletes and others in their highest and best interests, with no interest in what the dominant trend is or will be in the future. Learn more about KSI Coach Education here https://kingsports.net/courses/