Special Report: Do You Really Know 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.
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 publications on NO biology began appearing. In 1992, Science (Magazine) announced NO as "molecule of the year". In 1998, the Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded for research into NO’s role in/on the cardiovascular 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 Viagra®. 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 iso-caproate (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. 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 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 research-based 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. The l-citrulline and l-arginine 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).
Here is a recent experience Ray Binkowski of FitWorkz.com reported about a client of his who started using Muscle Synergy.
January 30, 2006
“I had a male (193 lbs) client do dumbbell bench presses with 110lbs. No big deal right?
Well in this case it is a big deal. The client had rotator cuff surgery last fall. For the better part of the last 5 months upper body training was non-existent. After rehab and getting back to 100% he ran the dumbbell rack up to the 110s where he did 4 sets of 6 effortlessly and called it a day. He has been taking Muscle Synergy since November, 8 in the morning and 8 in the evening on as empty a stomach as possible.
It gets better...He gained 8 lbs of lean mass during the last few months...WITHOUT training upper body! Lean mass confirmed by the 41 point total on his 9 site skin fold reading earlier this week...that means he is 5.7% body fat right now. So with only training lower body he maintained strength, lowered his body fat, and gained lean mass. It is fair to point out the client is not a bodybuilder. He is not new to training as he earns a living playing in the NFL, the injury happened in a game. Though he was not training upper body he was training lower body and doing cardio. He also has a work ethic that few can match...but given all that, big things happened when Muscle Synergy was started.
- Raymond M. Binkowski - FitWorkz.com
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 you’re 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!
A review about Muscle Synergy:
Hugo Rivera: Elite Trainer & Nutrition Consultant, Top National Level Bodybuilder and Best Selling Author shares his personal results using Muscle Synergy
"When I started to use Muscle Synergy the first thing I noticed was the increased pump and vascularity that comes from its first dose. I also noticed less fatigue and more endurance throughout the workout. After a week, I started to see more muscle definition (as at the time I started to use it I was on a cutting phase) and hardness throughout the day, which I attribute to its ability to protect muscle as one diets down, in addition to its muscle volume enhancing properties. It is important to note as well that my strength kept increasing as body fat was burned and muscle spared. Recuperation between workouts also increased and less soreness was noted from highly intense workouts."
To read more about Hugo’s personal results with Muscle Synergy, as well as the results his clients have been getting check out the link below.
http://bodybuilding.about.com/od/productreviews/fr/muscle_synergy.htm
Check out Muscle Synergy in Beverly's Product Catalog
http://www.beverlyinternational.net/productpdfs/Muscle_Synergy.pdf