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I think since Day 1, I’ve heard and have been led to believe that a protein shake should be taken immediately after you train. This is so that your body, which is now in “ Sponge Mode “ will get the nutrition it needs to repair itself and feed the muscles properly to make gains.
Now I have also seen where it’s said that you DO NOT have to do that. 
The “ Window “ is a lot more open than what most think. I have seen where you can take a protein shake up to a few hours after training and still reap the benefits and be able to grow muscle and repair. 
I will try to find the article, or it may have been a video. 
But my question is, who drinks their shake right after they train, and who actually waits until they can stomach it and then drink their shake???

I also wanted to add that sometimes after I train I really want to eat food , not drink a shake , or I may feel nauseous and not eat for a couple hours.

What’s up guys !!! Hope all is well.  
Good to see a new board born as some unfortunately have been ended..

Has anyone have any thoughts or feedback on peptide AOD9604?[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]OD[/font]

Nice to have a new place to call home! Glad to see familiar faces in here. Can't wait to see this forum grow!

Happy we are back up thanks for invite.

Bodybuilding Myths That Must Die!

Every culture has its myths and bodybuilding is no exception. Like most myths, most are nine parts fantasy and one part truth, though of course, some myths have no truth to them at all. I have spent much of my career attempting to expose myths surrounding bodybuilding and topics that relate to it, such as drugs, nutrition and supplementation etc.For example, one of my more popular articles that was published “back in the day” in Muscle Media was entitled “Nutritional myths that won’t die” which focused on myths surrounding protein and athletes. Classics such as “athletes don’t need additional protein” and “high protein diets are bad for you” as well as others were covered and debunked.

This article, however, is not about one topic or myth, but random myths that float around and never seem to die. It’s intended to be tongue-in-cheek to be sure, but it’s still a serious attempt to combat various myths that have little or no truth behind them. Some of these myths are generated inside the bodybuilding community and some are generated outside the community, by the general public and or medical community. These are in no particular order, so let’s start with a classic:

Myth #1: “Your muscles will turn to fat the soon as you stop working out – Tissue Alchemy BS”

This is a classic used by those looking for excuses for why they have not started an exercise program and resent those that have. My own mother used to say that to me as a kid when I joined a gym at 14. There is no physiological mechanism by which muscles magically convert to fat when one stops working out for some reason. What happens, however, is that many of the gains in muscle mass will be lost from the lack of stimulation. It’s not exactly earth-shattering news that people who don’t exercise and eat above maintenance calories get fat. So what you have is often a loss of muscle and an increase in body fat due to lack of exercise coupled with excess calories. The next time you see someone who used to be buffed but is now fat, it’s not because his or her muscles some how converted to fat. They are fat for the same reason millions of others are fat: too many calories, not enough activity.

Regardless, what if it were true? That is, is the fear of this mysterious muscles to fat conversion a reason to not start a weight training program? If you stop brushing your teeth, the result is (drum roll) cavities, but that’s not a legitimate reason to never start brushing your teeth! I have gained and lost many pounds of muscle over my life time, and have worked with countless people in all phases of their life, and I have yet to see any muscles convert to fat, this myth of tissue alchemy needs to die now. I have however seen plenty of people who stopped working out and got fat.

Myth #2: “Pros eat ‘clean’ all year round”

This myth can be blamed squarely on the bodybuilding publications who want the readers to think their heroes eat low fat healthy “clean” foods year round. This has often led to newbie types attempting to get all the calories they require for growth from baked chicken, rice, and vegetables. Of course getting – say – 4000 plus calories (or more) from such foods is virtually impossible. This reality often leaves the newbie confused and depressed because he’s not making any appreciable gains attempting to stuff himself to death with foods that are low in calories. It’s very difficult to get 4000, 5000, or even 6000 calories a day from chicken and rice. Now for the reality: off-season I have sat across the table from many a pro eating cheeseburgers, pizza, and apple pie. I know one pro who used to pull over anytime he saw a Taco Bell. Big people require plenty of calories and calorie-dense foods are the only way to get them. As the late, great Dan Duchaine once said regarding off-season eating for growth: “don’t feel bad you ate a cheeseburger, feel bad you didn’t eat three!”

Now I can’t comment on every pro’s diet as I don’t know them all, and I am sure some of them have cleaner diets then others off-season. However, make no mistake: the articles you read about what pros eat off-season and what they really eat are often two different things.

As sort of an ancillary myth, most pros will carry more body fat than they claim off-season when trying to gain new muscle mass. Telling people they eat at Taco Bell and are above single-digit body fat levels does not sell magazines or supplements, so it pays to perpetuate the myth that they are hard as nails all year (with a few exceptions) and always eat “clean”.

Myth #3: “Bodybuilders are not strong”

Only people who have never stepped into a gym make such stupid statements. Strength varies greatly person to person of course, but some bodybuilders are very strong with 800lb squats and 500lb bench presses not uncommon. I have seen people using weight that had to be seen to be believed: 600lb front squats for reps, incline bench presses with 500lbs for reps, and seated presses with 400lbs for reps, etc. No, not all bodybuilders are nearly that strong, but any bodybuilder worth his salt is still considerably stronger then the average person. Some bodybuilders compete in both power lifting and bodybuilding and often do well in both. Yes, some bodybuilders are not as strong as they look, but some are much stronger then they look, and some are crazy strong.

Myth #4: “Bodybuilders can’t fight”

I’m not going to give much space to this myth other then to say bodybuilders are like everyone else: some are tough SOB’s and some are cream puffs with most somewhere in the middle. No different then the general public. I have seen a few of the tough SOB variety in action. Conversely, I was at a gym-sponsored cookout some years ago where this huge bodybuilder decided to hassle this guy half his size. Problem was, the guy happened to be the state kick boxing champion and proceeded to beat the snot out of the bodybuilder in front of a few hundred people. The lesson here is: don’t judge a book by its cover, and don’t get into fights!

Myth #5: “Bodybuilders are all gay”

As with the last myth, this one does not warrant much space. It’s my experience the bodybuilding community is gay as often as the general public. No more, no less, and how much muscle a person has does not seem to affect the rate one way or another. It’s a stupid myth that should be put to rest for good.

Myth #6: “Anyone can look like a pro bodybuilder if they take enough drugs”

If this were true, people in gyms all over the world would look like pro bodybuilders. The major difference between a high level bodybuilder and everyone else is their genetics, the one thing they have no control over. Yes, drug use is a fact of life in bodybuilding and many other sports, and yes, nutrition and training play a role; but if you don’t have the genes for it, all the steroids in the world won’t get you anywhere near to looking like the people you see in the magazines. Unfortunately, every gym has those people using doses of drugs higher than many pros and still look like crap. Make no mistake: drugs work and clearly add an advantage to athletes who use them, but the difference between them and you is that they chose the right parents!

Myth #7: “Bodybuilders are all Narcissistic”

Well OK, this one has a ring of truth to it. Truth be known, bodybuilders can be some of the most narcissistic people you will ever meet, but they are not all that way. Some are humble, down-to-Earth people, but let’s be honest, some narcissism is par for the course in bodybuilding. Nuff said there…

Myth #8: “Bodybuilders have small penises and they try to make up for that with big muscles”

How many times have we heard this dumb myth? Clearly, this one is directed at the male bodybuilders. Truth be known, I have not seen that many bodybuilders’ manly muscle missiles, but it’s been my impression they tend to be like every other man in that dept. Some are big, some small, while most are in the middle or “normal.” One caveat, however, is that a big guy with a normal-sized member will look smaller then a skinny guy with a normal sized member. It’s all in the proportions.

Myth #9: “Steroids don’t work”

If you believe that one you are dumber then dirt. No response to this myth required from me! There’s a bunch of steroid-related myths I could list, but this is not a steroid article, so I won’t bother.

Myth #10: “I don’t want to lift weights because I don’t want to get huge”

This one tends to be uttered by women, but I have heard men say it also on occasion. It’s a pitiful excuse for not exercising. As discussed above, very few people have the genetics to achieve even above normal levels of muscle mass, much less get “huge.” 99.9% of you reading this will be lucky to put on some muscle, and even that will take years of hard work. It’s not like anyone ever woke up one day bulging with muscles they didn’t expect. And if you are one of those rare people who put on muscle relatively easily? Lucky you!

Well there you have it; the major myths in bodybuilding (hopefully) debunked. Those were the ones I’ve seen/heard most frequently. If you think I missed one, feel free to let me know and perhaps I can add it to this article at some point. I don’t want to see anyone turned off to the great endeavor that is bodybuilding. Like all sports or life styles, bodybuilding has its dark side. However, bodybuilding can be a very healthy, productive, and fun way of life that pays major dividends, so don’t avoid it ‘cause of myths and disinformation.

Designing a blood test that can predict lifespan

The ability to predict how long someone is likely to live would help doctors tailor treatment plans. A new study looking at biomarkers in the blood concludes that more accurately estimating mortality might soon be possible.

Researchers analyze blood in the search for markers of mortality risk.

As it stands, doctors can predict mortality within the final year of life with some degree of accuracy.

However, predicting it over longer periods — such as 5–10 years — is not yet possible.

A group of scientists who recently published a paper in the journal Nature Communications hope that they are now on the path toward developing a reliable predictive tool.

They believe that a blood test might one day be able to predict whether someone is likely to live 5 or 10 more years. The authors explain that this would help doctors make important treatment decisions.

For instance, they would be able to ascertain if an older adult is healthy enough to have surgery, or help identify those in most need of medical intervention.

A test like this might also benefit clinical trials: Scientists could monitor how an intervention impacts mortality risk without having to run trials until enough people die.

Predicting longevity
Currently, blood pressure and cholesterol levels can give doctors an impression of a person's likely lifespan. However, in older adults, these measures become less useful.

Counterintuitively, for people aged 85 or over, higher blood pressure and higher cholesterol levels are linked with lower mortality risk.

Scientists from Brunel University London in the United Kingdom and Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands set out to identify any biomarkers in the blood that might help tackle this issue.

Their study is the largest of its kind, taking data from 44,168 people ages 18–109. During the study's follow-up period, 5,512 of these people died.

The team initially identified metabolic markers associated with mortality. From this information, they created a scoring system to predict when a person might die.

Next, the researchers compared the reliability of the scoring system with that of a model based on standard risk factors. To do this, they studied data from a further 7,603 individuals, 1,213 of whom died during follow-up.

Mortality metabolites
After whittling down a long list of metabolites, the researchers settled on 14 biomarkers independently associated with mortality.

Having higher concentrations of some of the 14 biomarkers — including histidine, leucine, and valine — is associated with decreased mortality.

Conversely, having lower concentrations of others — such as glucose, lactate, and phenylalanine — is associated with increased mortality.

The scientists demonstrated that the combination of biomarkers could predict mortality equally well in both males and females. They also tested their findings across several age groups, concluding that "[a]ll 14 biomarkers [...] showed consistent associations with mortality across all strata."

The biomarkers they identified are involved in a wide range of processes in the body, including fluid balance and inflammation. Also, scientists have already linked most of them to mortality risk in previous studies.

However, this was the first time that researchers have demonstrated their predictive power when combined into one model.

This study is just the next step along a path that might lead to a usable blood test. However, the study authors feel encouraged:

"A score based on these 14 biomarkers and sex leads to improved risk prediction as compared [with] a score based on conventional risk factors."

A long path ahead
The authors do note certain limitations of their study. For example, they were only able to analyze hundreds of the thousands of metabolites present in human serum.

Including more metabolites in future analyses would, the authors predict, "result in [the] identification of many more mortality associated biomarkers and, hence, improved risk prediction."

"There's a hope that in the near future we can understand the biomarkers that can be modified, perhaps by helping people improve their lifestyle or through medication, to lower the risk of death before a significant deterioration of health."

Study co-author Dr. Fotios Drenos
Although this exact test would not be suitable for use by the general public, it could eventually evolve and move into the public sphere in the same way that genetic testing has.

Perhaps, in the future, the question might not be, "How long will I live?" but rather, "Do I want to know?"

Creep here from all the other forums, thank you for having me

BAR BODY
The most common gym lurker. As the name implies, this guy works on muscles to show off at the bar, with purpose of impressing chicks or intimidating pencil necks. Usually, it's a young guy between 15-25 years old, who's at the gym working on every upper body muscle he can see from the front.

The routine consists of endless curls, bench presses, push-downs and seated presses. Once in a while, you see him throw in a few lat pull-downs and crunches just for fun.

CHAT BOY
This type of guy is rare, but you don't want to run into him. Chat boy wants to discuss lifting, eating, or life in general with you, often in great detail.

Now, I have nothing against conversation, especially workout talk, but chat boy doesn't know when to stop and turns a one-hour workout into two.

THE SHARP-DRESSED MAN
Believe me, not every girl is going crazy for this guy. I've seen him many times, and I still don't get it. His lifting attire consists of a T-shirt, dress pants, and loafers. I mean frigging loafers? One workout I could understand, but nobody forgets their gym bag everyday.

STANKY
Stanky, for lack of a better term, stank. It wasn't a natural, "I just busted my a$$ and sweated a fountain" type of odor—it was more of a festering pile of sewage smell that assaulted the nose.

I'm pretty sure that he didn't wash himself, his gym clothes, his underwear—or most likely all three. I could smell him coming and it was so bad that if he worked next to me, I would finish what I was doing quickly and run for oxygen.

ROCKY JR.
I'm all for boxing, I think it's a great way to stay fit and relieve tension. What I don't get is the guy shadowboxing in front of the dumbbells.

My gym has no boxing equipment, not even a place to jump rope, yet Rocky comes here three times a week to get ready for Apollo. Here's a hint: it's not that kind of gym.

MUTTERER
This guy loads the bar up with way too much weight, eekes out 3 reps with bad form and then mutters "shit", loudly, after his set prematurely ends.

He's under the impression that everyone cares how much he's lifting, and wants us to know that any other day he could have made the lift. If you see this, make sure to avoid eye contact, otherwise you'll end up hearing a lengthy, bullsh*t explanation for the travesty you have just witnessed.

TIGHTPANTS
This is self-explanatory. If you even think this might apply to you, buy some new pants. Now!

MR. SCREAM
No matter what weight this guy is using, or what rep he's on, he feels the need to share his pain with us. A certain amount of noise is understandable, and even expected on certain movements (i.e., squats), but nobody wants to hear you yell through 4 sets of push-downs.

THE HURLER
Unfortunately, this has nothing to do with puking. This guy feels the need to launch any weight he's just finished using, especially dumbbells, onto the floor. Not only is this a hazard for anyone near him, it breaks down the dumbbells.

Losing control when lowering weights might happen once in awhile, but launching the weights so everyone can look and see how much you used is pathetic.

THE TAG TEAM
I thought this one was overstated by everyone, until I joined my latest gym. The team, as the name implies, is actually two guys working together to lift the same weight.

This is almost always on the bench press, where one guy loads the bar up and his friend helps him pull every rep after the second one.

I've even seen instances where a guy was helped on all of his reps. Rhetorical question time: If you need help to bench 400 lbs, do you really bench 400?

THE ENTOURAGE
Another one that borders on cliché: You've seen the group of guys—usually high school to early 20's—lifting together. They almost always congregate at the bench or preacher station. They hog up this area without seeming to do any work.

They're more interested in what party they're going to or which chick they're trying to score with. Lord help you if you want to bench when they're around.

CABLE GUY
This guy, for one reason or another, lives by the cable stack. Maybe he thinks they're better or safer or maybe he just misses his Bowflex. Either way, cable cross-overs, cable curls, cable crunches and cable lateral raises do not a workout make.

THE JACKASS
I couldn't think of more appropriate name for the guy who loads up a bar or machine, does his reps and leaves it. The next person is then stuck with the task of unloading the 300 lbs his friend just helped him bench. I get pissed just thinking about it.

MR. SMITH
Have you ever seen anyone base his entire workout around the Smith Machine? Most savvy lifters are well versed in the limitations (and evils) of the Smith machine. However, Mr. Smith treats it like a long lost relative and tries to spend as much time on or around it as possible.

Bench press? Check. Squat? Check. Incline press? Check. Upright row and lean way back? Check. Extra shearing on his joints? Check. Injury? On its way.

MR. CLEAN AND CURL
Having invented a new exercise, the reverse hang-clean, Mr. Clean sports impressive strength and muscularity in the hips and lower back. Oh wait, he was curling...

THE WANDERER
This guy combines his love of walking with weightlifting. His routine: load the bar up, do a set, walk around the gym for 10 minutes and repeat 4 or 5 times. My favorite is when they load up a bar, leave it in the squat rack and come back and curl it. Same amount of time—twice the jackass.

THE ORTHOPEDIST'S DREAM
Closely related to Mr. Smith (I'm sure they'll end up in the same waiting room, sooner or later) is the Dream. Let's see: he squats onto a chair and bounces back up, deadlifts like he's waiting to be mounted and benches with an arch you could drive a Mini Cooper through. Hey buddy, hear that crackling noise? It's your spine.

CAPTAIN CRUNCH
The last guy I saw like this was middle-aged, paunchy and terrified of everyone in my gym. His claim to fame is doing 8 consecutive sets on the crunch machine, with a 5 second rest period in between. His answer when I asked him if I could work in: more crunches. I wonder if his waist has gotten any smaller?

DANCE FEVER
Every time I see Dance in my gym he's either on his way to, or coming out of an aerobic class. Sometimes I think he does it to meet chicks, but then I remember his stylin' headband and Richard Simmons-like build.

I'm all for cardiovascular fitness, but I believe that unless it involves hittin' something, men do not belong in aerobic classes. The only Fonda you should even think about imitating is Peter, although I would not recommend his previous "supplementation."

SHORTSHORTS
See Tightpants, above. And, if they were once jeans, shoot yourself.

RACK AND ROLLER
This has to be seen to be believed: this guy goes to the dumbbell rack, picks the dumbbells off the rack, places them on the floor and then rolls them to whatever bench he's working on.

When he's done, he rolls them back. It's a good thing too... I mean I wouldn't want him to exert himself. Especially funny when they're hex dumbbells!

CHARLIE BANDANA
Charlie shows up to the gym in clothes that would embarrass Hulk Hogan. Apparently, he learned everything he knows about gym attire from reading Flex... in 1986.

The bandana, clown pants, and shitkicker boots are bad enough, but it's the silly muscle T-shirts ("Fear This!") that really push him over the top. I'm sure he feels ultra hardcore, but he looks like a tool.

RIGHT TACKLE
20 years ago, Right Tackle dominated the field on his high school football team. I know this because I've heard him tell his story at least 50 times. It's either right before or right after he looks in your direction and says: "I used to lift more than this."

Every time a young guy with a decent build comes near him he asks, "You play football?" This inevitably leads to a retelling of RT's past glories. Hey buddy, leave the kids alone—it's over.

TREADSWILL
It's bad enough to watch people bounce the bar off their chests and squat 2 inches down, but now I have to see cheating during cardio?! Because walking at 3 m.p.h. is apparently tiring and too stressful, Treadswill eases his pain by leaning onto the display column to support his bulbous form. What the hell's wrong with you when even walking fast is too hard?

THE SCHOLAR
I see guys carry bodybuilding mags around the gym all the time. Usually they're trying to follow some bullshit 30-set routine; I feel bad for them but it doesn't really bother me. What irritates me is the guy reading a book in between sets.

You shouldn't be able to talk between sets, much less have the ability to read a book. I mean, if you're not going to put real effort in, then why bother in the first place? Last time I checked, there were no studies showing that reading Dune is anabolic.

Anabolic refers to the metabolic process that is characterized by molecular growth, such as the increase of muscle mass. Thus, it means "muscle-building" in most common bodybuilding contexts.

NAT KING SWOLE
The biggest "natural" guy in the gym. I have no problems with gear, but watching moonface talk about the virtues of being natural and how it was training "balls to the wall" that got him big really gets to me. Nobody's asking for a confession, but if you're juicing, don't try to present yourself as something you're not.

DUMBELLINA
Okay, I know I said this would be about guys, but I'm sure at least one woman will read this. Anyway, Dumbellina is the epitome of what women shouldn't be doing in the gym.

Her entire workout revolves around those tiny cast iron dumbbells that wouldn't give a toddler a good workout. I'm not sure what's she's doing with them, but it looks like her goal is to one day flap her arms and take to the sky.

One of these days, I expect to see her gracefully soaring over the parking lot. The good thing is, I'm sure those nasty itty bitty weights won't make her too big.

DESPERADO
Every gym has at least one of these guys, whose sole purpose at the gym is to search for someone to rub up against. His habits of constantly leering at, hitting on, or "accidentally" bumping into the female members make him a nuisance. One of these days he's going to bump the wrong girl and end up with a 25 lb plate sticking in the side of his head.

BABY HUEY
Here's one for the younger guys. Huey's claim to fame is that he mocks all of his scrawny classmates at my gym for the weights they use. Being a skinny teenager is hard enough and I'm sure getting to the gym takes some balls for these guys.

What they don't need is verbal abuse from some doofus who just happened to be born big, fat and strong. He's another one that will eventually screw with wrong person and have his a$$ handed to him.

COACH
Coach has somehow managed talk his girlfriend into going to the gym and letting him train her. Unfortunately, he thinks she needs to follow his "hardcore" training methods. It's almost comical listening to him tell her that leg pressing is for sissies.

It's even funnier to listen to him correct her out loud for wanting to "tone up." Hey pal, she doesn't care if "getting toned" is a misnomer—she just wants to look good. She squats with better form than you anyway...

What up SF Fam..!!
It is good to be back home. Thanks brother @scoobs88 for the invite. Hope everyone is well..!! Looking forward to getting settled in over here