BMJ #9
Do You Really Need Know To About NO?
By Tony Policci
Your veins will swell up and look like a garden hose..." your muscles will be pumped up beyond belief"... you'll
have amazing strength and tireless, explosive ability"... "it’s the bodybuilders"
Viagra®"... these are just a few of the things
we’ve seen published, or heard others say about Nitric
Oxide (NO) and NO related supplements. Ladies and
gentleman... the latest trend in hyped up supplement
selling language is in full swing.
So What’s the Story With NO?
NO is a gas, formed from nitrogen and oxygen. It
serves as a signaling molecule that causes dilation of
blood vessels known as hemodilation. Although NO is
one of the simplest biological molecules in nature, it has
found its way into nearly every phase of biology and
medicine; ranging from its role as a vital organic regulator
of blood flow and clotting, to a chief neurotransmitter
controlling erectile function. These major discoveries
have sparked intense and extensive research into a vast
array of fields including chemistry, molecular biology,
gene therapy, and of course, bodybuilding.
From diabetes to hypertension, cancer to drug addiction,
stroke to intestinal motility, memory and learning
disorders to septic shock, sunburn to anorexia, there
is probably no pathological condition where nitric oxide
does not play an important role. But it’s not the newest
kid on the block.
NO is a gas, formed from nitrogen and oxygen. It
serves as a signaling molecule that causes dilation of
blood vessels known as hemodilation. Although NO is
one of the simplest biological molecules in nature, it has
found its way into nearly every phase of biology and
medicine; ranging from its role as a vital organic regulator
of blood flow and clotting, to a chief neurotransmitter
controlling erectile function. These major discoveries
have sparked intense and extensive research into a vast
array of fields including chemistry, molecular biology,
gene therapy, and of course, bodybuilding.
From diabetes to hypertension, cancer to drug addiction,
stroke to intestinal motility, memory and learning
disorders to septic shock, sunburn to anorexia, there
is probably no pathological condition where nitric oxide
does not play an important role. But it’s not the newest
kid on the block.
We’ve known about NO since 1977 but until the late
1980’s, researchers didn’t pay much attention to NO.
Then an avalanche-like growth of publication on
NO biology began appearing. In 1992, Science (Magazine)
annouced NO as "molecule of the year". In 1998, the
Noble Prize in medicine was awarded for research into
NO's role in/on the caridovascular system.
Turns out, that as we age our cells tend to produce
less nitric oxide and when there isn’t enough of it, the
body can develop hypertension, artherosclerosis, and
inflammation in blood vessels, (otherwise known as
cardiovascular disease). And there’s a vicious cycle: increasing
blood pressure and inflammation, for instance,
impair the action of nitric oxide.
New Found Fame
Nitric oxide is perhaps best known these days because
of its connection with sildenafil, the primary ingredient
in ViagraŽ. This drug enhances the effects of
nitric oxide, which helps relax blood vessels, allowing for
increased blood flow and thus... well you get the idea.
If that wasn’t amazing enough, nitric oxide also
plays a role in the brain and nervous system, by acting
as a chemical messenger that is crucial in memory and
learning, as well as in the regulation of the sleep-wake
cycle, among other functions.
Everyone REQUIRES nitric oxide to carry out
crucial physiological processes within the body. From a
bodybuilder's perspective, nitric oxide supplementation
may prove useful in increasing growth due to increases
in blood flow to certain areas of the body.
Nitric Oxide Effects on
Building Muscle
NO is made from the amino acid l-arginine,
NO is a highly reactive gas that is easily dissolved
and dispersed through cell membranes and is often
used as a biological switch or signal.
The idea behind the new NO supporting
supplements is to use l-arginine, arginine alpha
keto-glutarate (A-AKG) and arginine keto isocaproate
(A-KIC) to increase the production
of NO to bring a greater influx of nutrients and
oxygen to the muscles, causing a better pump
and increased recovery and growth.
To Boost or ‘NO‘ to Boost
The amino acid l-arginine is well known by
bodybuilders to be one of the building blocks of
protein, and is what the cells use to make nitric
oxide. Studies have found that arginine supplements
can boost nitric oxide production. Some
have also suggested that the supplements can
improve the function of blood vessels, enhance
coronary blood flow, lower blood pressure, and
even reduce angina or other symptoms in people
with heart and/or vascular disease.
There are many arginine supplements on
the market. It used to be marketed with claims
that it could reduce the risk of cardiovascular
disease and even eliminate the need for surgery
and medication among patients with heart
disease. However, the Federal Government
stopped companies from making such unsubstantiated
medical claims.
Other types of arginine supplements include
claims that their products are based on
Nobel Prize-winning research and some even
boast that one of the Nobel Prize winners has
actually collaborated on its supplement. The
ads for these products avoid making overt
medical claims, but they still make it sound like
the products are drugs, not supplements. They
do this so they can charge prices comparable to
prescription drugs.
What You Need to Know Before
You Buy ‘NO‘
The fact that nitric oxide increases blood
flow is of major interest to you as a bodybuilder,
because increased blood flow will deliver
more nutrients to your muscles, thus helping
them become larger when subjected to training.
training.
The fact that NO acts to reduce inflammation
also makes it of interest as it has the
potential to reduce the pain associated with
subjecting muscles to training. This is all very
exciting stuff and the news is now pretty well
known in the bodybuilding community.
The result is that now you can open any
national bodybuilding magazine and see several,
(dozen) NO advertisements all promising
massive gains in lean muscle mass, extensive
pumps, muscle growth, speeding recovery, and
increased strength. Also, promising to give you
the power to transform your body in ways you
could not even imagine before. You’ll also hear
things like "it's not a supplement" or "it is (or
it isn’t) a prohormone" whatever the psychobabble-
the marketers are placing it in a new
category that has the experts calling it the largest
breakthrough in bodybuilding supplementation
history.
The reason NO supplements are getting so
much attention is with NO you start seeing the
results quick. In fact, you may even perceive the
extensive pumps from the very first use, or at
most in only a few days. This can be very exciting
- but it can be short lived. Why? Because many
NO products will give you these effects short
term, but they don’t cause any lasting or permanent
changes as to lean muscle growth. You want
and need more than just a great pump...right!
You want real muscle tissue growth! You
want an increase in muscle mass. Harder, longer
lasting pumps, increased strength, and endurance.
After you’ve increased your muscle tissue,
you need to maintain it! Any NO supplement
worth its salt needs to cover all three of the following
"muscle areas" pump, production (of
lean muscle tissue growth), and preservation.
We call it the "three p’s" of muscle building.
A Closer Examination of the
Ideal Synergistic Formulation
NO may be the latest "buzz" in the wonder
supplement category, but long before the pages of
every bodybuilding magazine were littered with
Nitric Oxide ads, many bodybuilders were already
benefiting from Beverly’s own NO solution...
which was none other than Muscle Synergy.
Muscle Synergy was introduced in 2002
and named based on the synergy that occurred
from its blend of anabolic and anticatabolic
anticatabolic
compounds. Each of them was powerful
enough on their own in the recommended dosage,
but together their effect was even greater
than the sum of their individual effects.
When Muscle Synergy was introduced it was
called the ’ideal’ formulation. Beverly was not
tooting its own horn. In fact, this was a researchbased
formula supported by real science.
The key to the formula is the synergism created
when l-arginine is combined with creatine
and/or hmb. It’s true, l-arginine, allows your
body to make nitric oxide, but it also transports
assisting protein substances into the machinery
of structural proteins. Long before the major
NO supplement frenzy, l-arginine, was known
to have positive effects on nitrogen retention
- meaning your body was building muscle
rather than breaking it down to meet demands
of the various energy systems. Creatine was
an obvious choice as a perfect compliment to
arginine because of its role in volumization
and the production of energy. But arginine’s
interaction with creatine was never examined
in the context of bodybuilding. You see, arginine
is required for the synthesis of creatine. If
there is not enough arginine available for this
process, your body will breakdown muscle protein
to meet its arginine needs. When used as
directed, Muscle Synergy provides 7000mg of
arginine. That's more than enough arginine to
protect your body from BREAKING DOWN
MUSCLE to meet its needs!
HMB is a compound that was touted a
decade ago as the next "deca", but fell incredibly
short in the real world. Beverly was one
of the few companies who did not immediately
jump on the hmb bandwagon, however, once
we were aware of reliable research [which
combined l-arginine (in a 7-gram dose) with
3000mg hmb]... all of a sudden, they became
very interested.
HMB helps protect your muscles by slowing
the rate of protein breakdown, thereby
allowing you to avoid the frustrating '2 steps
forward (gain), 1 step back (lose)' syndrome
so common with hard gainers. Combined with
l-arginine in the proper dosage (7000mg l-arginine
to 3000mg hmb) the research showed that
not only was protein breakdown put in check,
but increased protein synthesis resulting in
added muscle was produced.
And yes, Muscle Synergy was created to
flood muscles with Nitric Oxide as well. Muscle
Synergy contains l-arginine for the NO conversion
process to occur, as well as l-citrulline and
l-ornithine which are critical to the resynthesis
of arginine allowing for increased and sustained
nitric oxide production. Nicotinic acid
(NA), well known for its 'global vasodilatory
response', is also included to bring about a
rapid increase in the diameter of your blood
vessels (i.e., vasodilation), thereby FURTHER
promoting blood flow and overall vascularity.
This makes getting and keeping a pump easier
– and as an ATP catalyst, nicotinic acid enhances
muscular energy.
What has made Muscle Synergy so amazing
is how the l-arginine, l-citrulline, l-ornithine,
nicotinic acid, creatine, glycine (which
is a further precursor to creatine), and hmb all
work together synergistically with the result of
rapid and sustained nitric oxide production,
increased protein synthesis, a positive nitrogen
balance, increased muscle volumization,
and less muscle breakdown. Muscle Synergy
users can increase their pump, stimulate more
muscle growth, protect against loss of existing
muscle and greatly improve all their resistance
training. In short, the end-result is not only
gains in size and strength; but also gains that
come faster than normal!
What’s the Bottom Line?
From the first formula released in 2002 to
the NEWEST 2006 version, Muscle Synergy...
isn’t just a catchy name! It’s a description of
what the product REALLY does for your
muscles. L-arginine, l-citrulline, and l-ornithine
work together to give you the strongest NO
effect. Nicotinic acid further enhances your
pump. L-arginine and hmb work together to
preserve your muscle even under the most
severe conditions of training... AND creatine
and hmb in combination deliver a much greater
effect together than they could individually,
(taken as single supplement!).
While Beverly’s Muscle Synergy was the
first NO supplement to combine the correct
ingredients to produce a synergistic effect,
other companies are already in the process of
"copycatting" them to try and claim they have
something "new". So in the spirit of "buyers
beware" remember this... Muscle Synergy was
revolutionary 4 years ago and was one of the
first NO products ever conceived. No expense
is spared in Beverly’s formulation (you’ll note
that there are no 4-page spreads in Muscle and
Fitness that divert money that could go into
the product into money that is budgeted for
marketing).
It’s Your Choice...
Buy the Hype or Buy the Help
So... if you’re seeking the benefits promised
by the newest NO supplement trend, don’t
hop on the bandwagon! You can experience all
the benefits in a product that has been proving
itself LONG BEFORE the other companies
could fire up their hype machines.
The truth of the matter is Beverly is interested
in producing products and solutions for
building real muscle and strength - - not just
providing people with a temporary pump! In
Muscle Synergy you have the be all and end
all ‘NO‘ supplement that really works in every
aspect of muscle building.
It was, from its onset and STILL is, the only
product of its kind that addresses the needs of
both muscle building and muscle maintenance.
Beverly spared no expense to make sure Muscle
Synergy, (like all their other supplements), is the
best product of its kind on the market. As new
reliable research becomes available, you can
count on Beverly to be right on top of it, to make
sure they provide a product that delivers above
and beyond what you can find anywhere else.
Not only does Muscle Synergy have a four
year proven track record, Beverly backs it up
with a FULL MONEY-BACK guarantee. So
while NO is all about gas, there’s no hot air
here! Get your hands on Muscle Synergy and
take your turn at accumulating new muscle
mass and strength faster than ever before!
In fact, compare it to any NO product you
may have been using... and don’t just look at
the labels... try it yourself! That’s the only way
youre going to be convinced! If you aren’t absolutely
BLOWN AWAY by the results Beverly
will not only refund every cent – they’ll send
you a gift certificate for $10 off any container
of the protein Jeff Everson, (famous strength
coach, trainer of 6 time Olympian Cory Everson
and current Publisher of Planet Muscle)
has publicly called the world’s best protein!
Muscle Synergy is by far one of the best,
if not the best, supplement on the market. It is
also an instant gratification product. I say this
because when you use it you’ll typically see your
strength go up, your lean mass increase, and
your fat decrease...and it is certain you will feel
a nice pump and see increased vascularity when
you lift. That’s what I call instant gratification,
and if you’re like me, you enjoy a little instant
gratification in your training now and then. If
you haven’t yet personally experienced the way
Muscle Synergy works, you owe it to yourself
to check it out. Get Muscle Synergy and feel its
power! It’s a proven winner and you’re gonna
love what it does for you. It’s worth every penny
and what’s even better is that you don’t even
risk a penny because results, (as always), are
promised by Beverly’s famous, ironclad, moneyback
guarantee! Now... go get bigger.
