I have used Sport Pharma brand vanadyl sulfate in the past with awesome results. I use that brand because it’s the only company to use real vanadium. Does Vanadyl need to build up in your system like Creatine, or does the insulin-mimicking and glucose disposal occur immediately upon taking it? This is a tough question, but I’m sure you will have some insight. No, vanadyl sulfate mimics the effects of insulin once it’s in the bloodstream. It acts outside the muscle cell (unlike Creatine) and if taken with Creatine, it can actually push the Creatine into the muscle cells (just like insulin can). Vanadyl sulfate can be considered a volumizing supplement in that, like insulin, it forces nutrients into the muscle cells. Unlike insulin, however, vanadyl sulfate does not put glucose and Amino Acids into the fat cells. (It seems to exclusively volumize muscle cells). Therefore, if you were to add vanadyl sulfate to your supplement regimen, you could theoretically decrease the amount of insulin released by your body and thus, reduce the chances of storing calories as fat. Also of note, vanadyl sulfate, unlike Creatine, has no energy buffering effects inside the muscle cell and no intramuscular (within the cell) volumizing effects.
I just want to know if you have tried Heavy Duty Training by Mike Mentzer? What is your opinion on it? What is your best training recommendation for a natural competitive bodybuilder trying to be as big as possible? I really admire your honesty and integrity (not to mention your broad and intricate knowledge of the sport and science of bodybuilding).
Thanks for the compliments, and yes, I do believe in Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty philosophy. While his approach to reduced volume with increased intensity is indeed correct, I do think he’s a bit extreme with regard to his suggestions of doing only one exercise per body part. I do not believe that a person can sufficiently fatigue an entire muscle group (especially the large muscle groups like back and legs) with just one set. A more moderate approach (which is what I use and suggest) would be to do several exercises per body part (with only one or two sets per exercise) so the total "set" volume is greatly reduced (thus avoiding overtraining). Now, instead of doing 15-20 sets per body part, you will only be doing six to eight sets per body part.
I am fascinated by this new company Quality Vet (QV). It seems to come out with new anabolic products all the time. Are there any new items from QV on the market since you last reported on them? Also, are there any new products from QV’s parent company, Denkal?
Actually, Quality Vet (QV) has indeed come out with a brand new version of injectable Winstrol called StanQV 50. This product comes in 20mL bottles and contains 50mg/mL. Like all other QV products, it comes with a security hologram that can be verified at www.ausvetdenkall.com. Denkal has also put out two new products. Cypiotest 250 is Denkal’s new 10mL bottle of testosterone cypionate (250mg/ML). DK Aquatest is Denkal’s new version of testosterone suspension (water-based testosterone). DK Aquatest comes in 10mL bottles at a strength of 100mg/mL. I am a 30-year old woman who is contemplating taking her first cycle of anabolics. What do you suggest would be the best thing for me to take so I can maximize gains but minimize side effects? The best way to avoid unwanted side effects would be to avoid taking any male anabolic hormones. As this is your first attempt at taking performance enhancing substances, I would much rather see you take a more neutral (non steroidal) approach. Try a 12-week cycle of clenbuterol (which is nothing more than a beta-2 agonist asthma medication). Many women see great gains from taking this extremely anti-catabolic compound. Not only that, clenbuterol dramatically increases muscle contractility (i.e., increases muscle strength). If you can reduce the ravaging catabolic hormones in your body while concurrently increasing muscular strength, you have a terrific recipe for increased muscle gains (without any unwanted side effects). However, if you find it absolutely necessary to take some kind of anabolic hormone in your quest for increased muscularity, I would suggest trying Oxandralone (Anavar, Oxandrin, or Oxandrovet) first. Five to 10 milligrams daily should provide you with more than enough anabolic stimulus, as a woman, to gain quality lean muscle mass (with very few, if any, side effects). Women who use anything stronger then oxandralone are inviting disaster in the way of masculinizing side effects (e.g., facial hair growth, acne, deepening of the voice, thickening of the jaw, loss of menstrual periods, and even possibly male-pattern hair loss). A week before I entered my first bodybuilding contest, my friend in the gym who was helping me with my diet and supplements suggested that I take the diuretic Aldactone for five days before my show, followed by 80 milligrams of Lasix the night before the show. On contest day, I came in very hard, but my muscles seemed totally flat. (I could not get a pump for the life of me). Also, after the prejudging, I started to cramp and despite eating tons of sodium and tons of potassium, I just couldn’t seem to get my cramping problem under control. Any suggestions on this last week of contest preparation would be greatly appreciated. First of all, Aldactone is a diuretic that works by inhibiting the hormone Aldosterone. Aldosterone’s job in the body is to tell the kidneys to reabsorb sodium (it maintains sodium balance in the body). Secondly, diuretics that cause potassium losses (non-potassium sparing diuretics) such as Lasix are notorious for pulling water out of the muscle cells, thus making them appear flat. On the other hand, potassium-sparing diuretics, such as Dyazide, cause sodium and water losses mostly from the subcutaneous (under the skin) compartment of the body. Essentially, what happened to you on contest day was that after depleting your body of sodium with Aldactone (for five days) and then further depleting your body of sodium, potassium and water with the use of the loop diuretic Lasix, you finally became so electrolyte-depleted that you started to cramp. However, because you stifled your body’s ability to reabsorb sodium with the Aldactone, you could not restore electrolytic balance by just eating a little extra salt (sodium). Had you exclusively used the potassium-sparing Dyazide the night before, if anything went wrong, you could have simply eaten extra sodium and corrected the problem.
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Performance Nutrition 
