by Matt Weik

I was reading an article the other day and while it brought up some good points, many of them I thought were far-fetched. In a nutshell, the FDA would like to see media outlets protect the customer by policing the information they give the public about dietary supplements. My first question would be, “how would writers or journalists who are not part of our industry (or who don’t have any educational background on the subject) know what is real and what is fake?” I mean, do we really think they are going to spend hours doing research on every article to ensure everything is scientifically factual? Have you read the newspaper lately or anything from the media? Not exactly what I would call 100% truthful. “Fake news” is thrown around all over the place these days.
Read More »Media Outlets Need to Police Supplement Claims?

by Christian Duque

Whenever I watch Blood And Guts, I always remember the line where 6x Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates suggests that 8x Mr. Olympia Lee Haney saw some kind of writing on the wall at the 1991 Mr. Olympia, that he took such notice of Yates, that, arguably, the greatest bodybuilder of all time, decided it was nice time to hang ‘em up, to retire. That seems like a stretch, even if we’re talking about The Shadow himself. Haney, unlike most retiring Mr. Olympias, ended his career at a very young age, without any major injuries, and could have easily continued his reign by as much 2-3 more years.
Read More »Did Lee Haney Retire Because of Dorian Yates?

by Matt Weik

I can only speak from my own experience, but in my opinion, the 2018 Olympia was the best we have seen in a long time. I felt like the judges were 100% fair and accurate, Steve didn’t allow the athletes to get carried away on stage and made them pose when he asked, and we had some amazing records being broken. More specifically, two Flex(s) had their sights set on making history – Shawn “Flexatron” Rhoden and James “Flex” Lewis.
Read More »2018 Olympia Was the Year of the Flex(s)

by Christian Duque

The supplement industry has always been one where new products are said to be better than the old. It’s a world dominated by innovation, but often times plagued by unoriginality. Given the numerous regulations, the vast competition, and the small-niche market of physique and strength-based athletes, companies definitely have their work cut out for them. Whether we’re talking about sports supplements or nutritional ones (e.g. vitamins, minerals), there have been few studies, almost nothing can be asserted with certainty, and the fine print of possible side effects and liability-shifting lingo can seem endless, particularly with many of the products put into the market by Big Pharma.
Read More »The Aminos War – Innovation or Hot Air?

by Christian Duque

Protein powder is the foundation of every supplement company – or is it? Why not start this article by questioning one of the most basic premises in our industry? Customers love protein, they swear by it, and everyone wants to have their own brand, with all its flashy labels, and all the fun that comes with bragging about which brand, flavor, and type you like. There’s whey protein – splitting off into concentrates, isolates, and hydrolysates. There’s casein – which some believe is garbage and others believe to be “time released”; then there’s egg. Old school guys love egg protein – real old school guys love milk & egg protein. Vegans have their own split.
Read More »Is Selling Protein Powder Worth It?

by Geoff Roberts

First and foremost, this article is going to be negative. For any of you who falsely believe that all negativity is “hating” or “bad vibes”, move on. Negativity is often necessary in order to properly evaluate certain events and hopefully change them for the better. Even things which are dear to one’s heart. With that out of the way, this 2018 Mr. Olympia presentation must be addressed. This years Olympia webcast was horrifying bad. I cannot even muster the proper words to describe the garbage I was subjected to whilst attempting to watch my favorite sporting event of the year. From every single angle imaginable, this presentation of the pinnacle of our beloved sport was atrocious.
Read More »2018 Mr. Olympia Webcast Woes

by Matt Weik

Being a business owner myself, I always enjoy a good story about how businesses first got started – the struggles, the triumphs, the growth. Being that I live in Pennsylvania, which just happens to be the home of Bakery Barn (Pittsburgh, PA), I thought it would be cool to share their story being that they are one of the largest protein bar manufacturing facilities in the US. Bakery Barn caters to many different demographics, industries, and produces bars for many of the top supplement companies in existence today.
Read More »Bakery Barn: Best Protein Bars in the Biz?

by Matt Weik

I was reading an article on an industry news website that talked about how supplement innovation is constantly growing, you just need to go in search for it and it got my wheels turning. Really? This got me thinking about the topic and the current state of the industry which prompted this article. Do we put too much pressure on supplement brands to innovate?
Read More »Are We Pushing Too Hard for Supplement Innovation?

by Christian Duque

If your car broke down, would you let a guy who could barely change a tire get under the hood and start playing with the cables, taking out screws, and messing with the fluids? If you came into some money and wanted to invest for your retirement, would you trust your money with a person who couldn’t even balance their own checkbook? Of course you wouldn’t, and of course, most people wouldn’t, either. Why? Because people value their cars and their money; these are important things to them and they’re not going to let just anyone potentially ruin them. That having been, wouldn’t you think people would care enough about themselves to avoid being put in harm’s way as they get ready for a contest? This article will focus on the bad trainers, the people that don’t have any business coaching, but a big part of the blame rests with the many folks who think so little of themselves that they don’t demand the best.
Read More »Bad Coaches in the Fitness Industry – An Alarming Issue

by Christian Duque

Cardiovascular exercise is key to losing fat, staying in shape, and also ensuring heart health. It’s called cardiovascular for a reason. Although this form of training is relatively new for bodybuilding purposes, it’s become a staple of pretty much all contest prep modalities. There’s a whole industry devoted to creating machines to fit this niche. There’s stair-masters, treadmills, stationary bikes, elliptical’s – a never ending concession of hardware.
Read More »Is Swimming The Best Cardio?