Published Tue January 23th, 2024

Episode 110: Creating the Worst Physique Coach

In this episode, John and Luke discuss the qualities of an all-time bad physique coach, while also addressing points that can really up your game as a coach.

Timestamps

Training Footage 01:10

Prep Work 08:59

Investing in Your Athlete 16:46

Mentorship/Client Relationship 26:22

John Jewett

J3U Founder & Educator

MS, RD, J3U-PC

Published Mon December 27th 2023

Episode 106: Are Your Reps Effective?

In this episode, John and Luke the efficacy of your reps – how and when to maximize them, and every variable that effects your reps actually are.

Timestamps

Intro 00:00

What the Research Says 01:57

Different Variables 06:25

What’s the Goal? 14:44

Variable Rep Programs 17:45

Effort Level 26:01

Closing Discussion 34:41

John Jewett

J3U Founder & Educator

MS, RD, J3U-PC

Published Wed December 13th, 2023

Episode 104: Estrogen Control & Masteron

In this episode, John and Luke talk through the offseason trifecta, how to manage each and offer perspectives and anecdote to help you maximize this combo.

Timestamps

Intro 00:00

How Long Should You Wait to Add in GH and Insulin Post-Show? 01:20

What is the Stop Point? 07:26

What to Consider with Metformin 15:40

John Jewett

J3U Founder & Educator

MS, RD, J3U-PC

In this episode of the J3U Podcast, John and Luke break down John’s entire experience and process going into his open debut at Legion!

Timestamps:

Intro 00:00

Landing the Peak 05:16

Fullness in Open vs. 212 14:19

Tanning 33:40

What’s Next for John? 44:17

Closing Discussion 50:02

In this episode of the J3U Podcast, John and Luke go into how you can travel AND make consistent progress as an athlete.

Timestamps:

Intro 00:00

Travel Scenarios 05:33

Keeping Routine 15:22

Training 19:24

Closing Discussion 23:31

In this episode, John and Luke give their insight into a popular topic in the industry, cold water therapy; ice baths, cryotherapy, etc.

Time Stamps:

Intro 00:00

Cold Water Therapy 04:32

Cryo vs. Cold Water 16:49

Hot Water vs. Cold Water 18:30

Recovery Modalities 24:36

Outro 34:55

Both John and I are currently in offseason and we like to enjoy a meal that’s off plan every now and again. This isn’t something that we’ll do very often and we’ll typically schedule it beforehand. It gives us something to look forward to and helps break up the monotony of our every meals and tasks. For this free meal we decided on pizza! One of our favorites! We have a few gift cards to our favorite pizza place (BJ’s Brewhouse) that we’ve been waiting to use but we knew we would go way over the calorie amount we were willing to spend on this free meal. So, instead we opted to make our own pizza at home to be in control of the ingredients and lessen the overall calorie amount for the meal. If you’re not familiar with our homemade pizza recipe I’ll link a YouTube video John made last year so you can check it out. Your welcome in advance!

Pizza Recipe:

We ended up making two large pizzas and splitting them. John made a BBQ pizza using G Hughes Sugar Free BBQ sauce, Fat Free Cheddar, Rotisserie Chicken, Red Onions, Jalapenos and the finishing touch once it came out of the oven was Cilantro. As my man Emeril likes to say, BAM! It was excellent, and I may have liked it just a bit more than the Supreme pizza that I made. Which consisted of pretty much everything in our fridge. Marinara, Fat Free Mozzarella, Fat Free Cheddar, Smoked Gruyere, Canadian Bacon, Turkey Bacon, Pepperoni, Red Onions, Sweet Peppers, Mushrooms, Black Olives and Pineapple. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m sure some of you are yelling “Pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza”. Me and my taste buds respectfully disagree.

 Of course our free meal wouldn’t be complete without a movie to watch while we sit on our couch and kick up our feet. What would pair well with pizza? Wonder Woman 1984! I’ve been anxiously waiting to watch this since it came out on Christmas day. To those who haven’t seen it I won’t spoil it for you, but I will give you my honest thoughts. Was this a blockbuster hit? No. Was it entertaining? Yes. Would I recommend people watch it at least once? Absolutely. Just don’t go in to it with super high expectations and remember it is a fictional comic book movie. My rating 8/10.

Next week we have our first Adventure Book vacation scheduled. I talked about this in last week’s newsletter just in case you missed it. We’ll be going to Fredericksburg, TX where we’ll be staying in a cabin. We’ve been working pretty much nonstop for weeks now, so it will be nice to get away, unplug and do some exploring. I’ll let you guys know how it goes! Until next week remember it’s not a ‘cheat meal’ it’s a ‘free meal’.

Think bigger!

Train Hard!

Renee Jewett IFBB Pro

We are yet to even see the peak effects of steroid usage on the brain in the elderly. Steroids came to usage in the 1960’s and 70’s. Usage at that time was too much lesser degree and the athletes in that time are just now getting into their later years. Steroid use presently is at an all-time high of abuse. Athletes 50 years ago weren’t running one gram of trenbolone per week. Present day AAS users in their 20’s and 30’s won’t see these effects for decades to come. The research isn’t present in humans for ethical reasons, but also steroids are still relatively young in comparison for the time course of degenerative brain disease to occur. This is why I think this topic is so important to educate yourself on.
Let’s investigate how steroids impact the brain with a review paper covering mechanisms and effects, then make some practical takeaways.

Study:

“Supraphysiologic-dose anabolic-androgenic steroid use: a risk factor for dementia?” Kaufman et al 2019.

Summary points:
Cognitive Decline
Chronic supraphysiological steroid usage is associated with partial memory impairments much similar to those found in people with Alzheimer Disease (AD) and Related Dementias (ADRD). A study of 18-30-year-old steroid users have been seen to have memory and executive function deficits.

In rodents given nandrolone, stanozolol or testosterone led to impaired memory and task deficits in as short as 4-6 weeks.

However, hypogonadism also leads to similar impairments as those taking supraphysiological dosages of steroids.

Beta-amyloid Accumulation
β-amyloid (Aβ) is a protein that we normal produce and eliminate from the brain. If accumulated in the brain and if not eliminated can form plaques that led to decline in cognitive function via apoptosis (brain cell death). Aβ levels are seen higher in those with AD and ADRD.

Long term AAS use has seen changes in the amygdala of the brain and cortical thinning, which ironically is also the area where we see the earliest increase in Aβ levels increasing.
We have limited data on supraphysiological dosages and Aβ levels in humans. However, in rodents one shot of 5mg/kg of trenbolone induces rapid increases in Aβ. This would be like a 220lb male injecting 500mg of trenbolone.

On the other end of the spectrum, therapeutic castrating men substantially increasing Aβ level and can double the risk of AD withing 4 years.

Estrogen may have a protective role in neurotoxicity inhibiting Aβ via enhancing NRf2 activity. In brain cultures exposed to testosterone with or without an aromatase inhibitor the testosterone with the low estrogen environment was neurotoxic.

AAS users also have a much greater incidence of sleep disturbance and this is seen in dosages as low as 250-500mg of testosterone per week. This disturbance in sleep quality and duration has been linked to increase in Aβ concentrations. Several enzymes important in Aβ elimination are decreased in AAS usage.

Oxidative Stress
Systemic oxidative stress is another large culprit in a host of pathologies we see in steroid users. One shot of 500mg of testosterone enanthate in health men can decrease urine total antioxidant capacity, indicating systemic oxidation.

There are numerous studies showing varying compounds (testosterone, winstrol, nandrolone, anadrol, boldenone) all causing oxidative stress in a number of tissues (brain, liver, kidneys, heart, blood, testes).

A certain degree of oxidative stress in normal, but in excess reactive oxygen species can damage components of cells and decrease its function or even cause apoptosis.

Summary:
Overall that is a lot of negatives on the brain for long term AAS use with supraphysiological levels. However, testosterone and estrogen within physiological norms appear to be neuroprotective as we see hypogonadism increases the risk for cognitive decline.

Practical Takeaway

• Limit Supraphysiological dosage of AAS as much as possible.
• Spend time at true physiological normal testosterone and estrogen levels
• Aromatase inhibition may suppress estrogen levels too low and eliminate the  neuroprotective benefits of estrogen.
• Use of oral AAS can lead to greater oxidative stress load
• Dividing AAS dosage into smaller more frequent administrations than larger less frequent administrations, may result in more stable serum androgen levels.
• The researchers suggest N-acetyl Cysteine as an antioxidant to limit oxidative stress and Sulphoraphane (found high amount is broccoli sprouts) as a nutraceutical that may decrease A- Aβ levels.

Big Brains Make the Big Gains!

John Jewett MS RD IFBB Pro

Reference:
Kaufman MJ, Kanayama G, Hudson JI, Pope HG Jr. Supraphysiologic-dose anabolic-androgenic steroid use: A risk factor for dementia? Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2019 May;100:180-207. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.02.014. Epub 2019 Feb 25. PMID: 30817935; PMCID: PMC6451684.

Study: Effects of Mental Training on Muscular Force, Hormonal and Physiological Changes in Kickboxers

Design: For 12 weeks elite level kickboxers were resistance trained with one group applying positive self-talk and visualization techniques (PT-MT group) while the other group only trained without the mental component (PT group). There was a third control group that did no physical or mental training as well serving as a control.

Variables measured (beginning, midpoint, end of study):

1.     One rep max was tested on the bench press and half squat, max distance medicine ball throw and max higher countermovement jump

2.     Resting heart rate, blood pressure, testosterone and cortisol levels were measured

Purpose: To investigate if mental imagery would lead to increases in strength, testosterone: cortisol ratio and decreases in cortisol, heart rate and blood pressure over physically training alone.

Results:

1.     Both PT and PT-MT groups increased performance measures, the PT-MT group made the largest increases in all performance measures.
2.     The PT-MT group had elevated testosterone:cortisol ratio and decreased blood pressure and heart rate compared to the PT group.

The Mental Techniques Used:Self-talk: Between imagined exercise and actual exercise the athletes were instructed to write down any negative self-talk and turn it into a positive motivation statement. So, rather than “this next set is going to be hard to get 10 reps on”, think “I can get more reps than I ever had on this next set”.

Mental Imagery: during each session athletes would imagine themselves performing each exercise maximally through their own eyes, not watching themselves perform the lifts.

Takeaway: Add in positive self-talk and mental imagery for a positive boost in performance and potentially even reduced stress markers. This isn’t going to be massive gains, but improving your mental state might squeeze out a few more gains and may carry over to having a more positive outlook in the rest of your life as well.

Train Hard!

John Jewett MS RD

Reference: Slimani M, Taylor L, Baker JS, et al. Effects of mental training on muscular force, hormonal and physiological changes in kickboxers. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2017;57(7-8):1069-1079. doi:10.23736/S0022-4707.16.06421-5