Troponin Nutrition is the latest in a rotating series of articles by, and about, Elite Fitness Systems’ Gold sponsored athletes and advisors. We’ve asked Justin to give us an update on everything that’s been going on in his life lately – in addition to all the valuable information he supplies for us on the Q&A – and he’s kindly provided us with a comprehensive update of all his current projects and goings-on.
Justin is the owner of Troponin Nutrition. Justin’s writing has been featured in numerous publications, including Muscular Development and Ironman, and he’s successfully helped hundreds of athletes with their diet and nutritional programming.
Justin was a two-time Division III football All-American at Alma College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science. He has also achieved an elite powerlifting total in the 275-pound weight class – done, remarkably, in his first-ever competitive meet.
You post pretty regularly in the Q&A, but can you give us a rundown of what you’re currently working on?
This is my first article like this, so I’ll give you as much “what’s happening” information as I can. Most of it’s business related!
Supplements/Food:
My company, Nutrivation LLC, has recently partnered with Myosci Technologies – the parent company of TrueProtein.com. They’re based in California. We're partnering on the Troponin Supplements line of supplements, and we’re coming out with a whole Troponin Foods line of products. These foods will contain the current Troponin Supplements, as well as a low-carb protein pudding, a protein cereal, and a totally new idea for a product that can turn ANY meal into a fat-burning meal by doing the same thing you do to every meal you already eat.
We’re also partnering on Troponin Nutrition’s Static Strength. Static Strength is the first line of supplements that’s totally geared toward powerlifting and performance enhancement. Our products will have one series of overriding goals: increasing totals, setting PR's, and improving performance in any activity you do. Each of these products is cutting edge, and each contains components totally new and unique to sports supplementation. I’ve spent many months on research for this project, and I believe it will be well worth the wait.
I’ll also be working for Myosci Technologies on product development for production of a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) supplement line called Strategy Nutrition. There has long been a glaring deficiency in proper nutrition and supplementation for MMA athletes, and we're going to change that.
Another thing I’m excited about is our work toward producing a Troponin Health line of products. These will be designed with the goal of improving health and reducing mortality across a wide range of health issues and diseases. I have actually formulated a research proposal for our first product in this line with regard to using the product as a secondary preventative measure for those with a pre-existing risk for occlusive vascular events.
Media:
At www.TroponinNutrition.com, we’ve released our first seminar DVD. This contains over three hours of non-stop nutritional information. It was filmed at a seminar I gave in early October at Powerhouse Gym in Metro Detroit. All the intricacies and nuances of Troponin Nutrition's "carb rotation" diet are covered in depth, so if you have any questions about anything I’ve written about or addressed on the Q&A, this is definitely something you need.
With nearly FIVE HOURS of footage, including never-before-released in-depth information on our Carb-Cycling approach, this is certainly worth the money. For half the price of other films of less than half the length, this is a great Christmas gift for those interested in using nutrition to improve their performance!
We’re also in the process of producing another DVD of a seminar I gave at Loras College in Iowa. This will be released sometime in the near future, and we're hoping to keep the price very low on this product in order to put it out as a "thank you" for all our loyal customers. I met some great people there and spent a lot of time with their strength and conditioning coach Adam Davis and an old teammate of mine named Gavin McMackin. Gavin is coaching there now.
I gave the seminar in their fieldhouse and had a great turnout. I kept picturing myself at nineteen years old, being told that someone was going to speak on training and nutrition at 6:30 on a Monday. Despite my interest in both, I would have easily been swayed to stay put and finish my game of Madden. Still, we had a great turnout and a lot of participation. I even saw a few people taking notes, which led me to believe someone must have made this a class requirement.
In other news, we’re started our own Troponin Nutrition clothing line. You can see our shirts on the website, and we're definitely planning on growing the line of clothing in the future.
Our first book, Comprehensive Performance Nutrition, will be released at some point before Christmas. Comprehensive Performance Nutrition is set up in an easy-to-read – and understand - question and answer format. It’s designed so that anyone can choose a question and get all the information they need for that particular question in one reading session. It’s perfect as a desk reference book as well as a resource for anyone pressed for time or attention.
Q&A:
I’ve read in your log that you’re thinking about going back to more of a “traditional” powerlifting routine. How are you planning to set that up?
I’m still debating that. I think the main changes I’m going to make are going with a lower rep range, no “arm” day, and hitting more body parts each day, as opposed, for example, to just hitting my chest. I’ve been looking through Dave Tate’s log and I like the way he sets things up right now.
What are your basic recommendations on supplementation for powerlifters?
I would recommend creatine for increasing force production potential and Beta-Alanine for increasing endurance. For recovery and increased energy, you should use waxy maize, and Pepto-Pro is a great pre and post workout protein. For stimulating protein synthesis – and inducing gains in size and strength – you can’t go wrong with Anatrop.
What about “cardio?” Is power walking a better alternative than running?
Running usually places enough of a demand on the body to require ample use of glycolysis for energy. Because you're expending calories so rapidly when you run, and producing at such a high rate, the body needs to use energy fueling pathways that are more rapid.
The catabolic effect you see is the body utilizing stored glycogen and also stored muscle to create energy to fuel the running. I don't like to go very low intensity, but running is likely too high of an intensity to prevent catabolism. This is why I would recommend power walking for much of the cardio.
You want your heart rate to be in the 60-75% range of your age-predicted maximum (220 minus your age, multiplied by .6 or .75). This should allow sufficient calorie burning to produce a state of EPOC after exercise, but it’ll still allow a larger percentage of fat to be used as fuel during the cardio, which will save your muscle tissue.
How do you feel about the recumbent bike and the stair climber? Is the bike not intense enough? Is the stair climber too intense? Are both fine as long as you’re between the 60-75% heart rate range?
My favorite form of cardio is the stepmill - the big stair stepper where the stairs rotate around in a circle. This is a great cardio machine, and the only one I like to use when doing cardio at the gym. I do the recumbent bike in the off-season for health, but I wouldn't do it to increase my conditioning or to burn fat. For general health, however, it’s a great machine.
With regard to Carb-Cycling, what do low-carb days do for body composition? Why do you include them in your diet?
Well, the key term here is "low.” What’s considered low-carb when dieting for a bodybuilding competition is going to be different than what’s considered low in the off-season. One thing that’s important to remember is that the two macronutrients that can alter your levels of muscle mass most effectively are probably protein and fat. Protein is obviously a necessity. Fat promotes proper hormone production.
I'll either do only high and medium days, or I'll include "low" days on some days when I’m not training. However, there will still be higher carbs in this setup than when someone is preparing for a bodybuilding competition.
What are your thoughts on NO products?
The NO products on the market are all based around the effect that nitric oxide has in the body. They’re all geared toward creating a vasodilatory effect. By dilating the blood vessels, these products should give you a better "pump" in the gym. Most of these also add a healthy dose of various stimulants. Any product that gets you wired and gives you a pump is going to be wonderful at creating the illusion of progress.
You could argue for the increased ability of a dilated vascular system to bring nutrients to the working muscle to both increase anabolic potential and remove training toxins (H+, ROS, etc.). However, the natural response of the body to exercise is to increase vasodilation to the working muscles. In other words, the body already has a built-in process to create this effect.
I'm never one to bash a particular product, especially if someone is getting great results from it. That said, however, I would spend money on other things before I’d purchase an NO product.