From: Nick Nilsson
Author of BetterU News
http://www.fitness-ebooks.com

Before I talk about the worthless ones, got a quick line on some
GOOD ones for you. The brand is called ProGrade and they have a
stellar repuation in the industry. I know both owners of the
company and honestly, they're the "good guys."

EVERYTHING they offer is backed by science - it's not fancy
stuff (which is one of the things I like about them)...it's TOP
quality stuff.

They're also running a 15% off sale on all their supplements
(ends today at midnight - my bad on that as I should have gotten
this out to you soon - was prepping for my the release of "The
Best Chest Exercises You've Never Heard Of" next Tuesday (and
yes, that was a shameless plug, I realize :)

Check out ProGrade here:

==> http://fitstep.getprograde.com/specials.html

On to the useless supplements! I think you'll get a kick out of
this one...

Nick

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A Bitingly Sarcastic Look at Useless Supplements
and Worthless Training Equipment

Infomercials, stupid ads, terrible products and useless
supplements are here to stay. Just because they're there doesn't
mean we have to buy them. But it does mean we can (and should)
have a laugh at their expense...

Please keep in mind, these are my own opinions, with which you
might agree or disagree. I may change my mind about these things
in the future but I will still be right.


1. Cortisol-Reducing Fat Loss Supplements

Ads for cortisol-reducing pills are all over the place these
days. Cortislim, Relacore, CortAid, Cortisyn, Cortless in
Seattle, I Can't Believe I'm Not Cortisolless, etc.

I have nothing but "respect" for a company that shamelessly
shames people into buying their product by telling them they're a
"member of the unhappiest club on Earth - the overweight club." I
think it's wonderful how the cure to stress-related fat gain can
be found in a glorified Vitamin C pill. The people peddling this
stuff like that need to be knocked on the head WITH an overweight
club.

Relacore's strategy? Herbal relaxants make you less reactive to
stress so you don't secrete as much cortisol and therefore lose
weight. Great theory! At least unlike other substances that make
you "herbally relaxed," it doesn't give you the munchies.

I don't know about you, but I'm just plain sick and tired of
products that say "Let's treat the symptoms and not the root
cause! That way, people will have to stay on this stuff forever
or all the weight will come back on because NOTHING ELSE HAS
CHANGED IN THEIR LIFE." What a genius of a marketing technique.
It's like putting a band-aid over your nose when you have a head
cold. Sure, it stops your nose from running, but when the
band-aid comes off, you're going to be up to your elbows in it.


2. The Ab Lounge

This is a "fabulous" new ab exerciser that's making the
infomercial rounds. It claims to allow you to develop six-pack
abs while lying in a reclined position. Just fold yourself up
like a human omelette - it's just that easy! It's basically a
Craftmatic adjustable bed without the mattress or the motor.

Unfortunately, the function of the rectus abdominus (the
six-pack area of the abs) is spinal flexion (curling the spine
forward) not hip flexion (bending at the waist like this machine
forces you to do). Sit-ups work the abs isometrically (without
movement) through hip flexion like this as well.

Don't waste your money on this unless you want to have somebody
you don't like sit in it and be folded in half as a practical
joke. They should have designed this thing with a clothes hanger
built in to save everybody the time.


3. Carbohydrate or Fat Blocking Pills

Here's a newsflash - if you have to block your body from
digesting something, maybe you shouldn't have put it down your
gullet in the first place. And besides, what do you think happens
to undigested, unused stuff like that as it makes its way through
your digestive system? Bingo. Your body puts it out the back door
in a "green apple quickstep" hurry.

If the focus of your diet is on getting away with as much as
possible, you're simply not going to succeed in the long run. But
on the bright side, at least you'll be able to catch up on some
reading by spending half your day in the bathroom.


4. Electric Ab Belts

If you don't already know how useless these things are, let me
be the first to tell you how useless these things are. They won't
even keep your pants UP (at least a regular belt will do that
much) much less help you make them looser.

You can't see your abs unless you burn fat. You don't burn fat
by making muscles twitch for a few minutes. If you really want to
lose weight using this thing, hook up the electrodes to a metal
knife and fork and try and eat with them.


5. Fat-Loss Creams

A topical fat-loss cream that actually worked would be a dream
come true for so many people. Too bad they stink and I'm not just
talking about the smell.

What would it take to convince me that one of these worked? Have
a test subject use it on only HALF of their body. If they look
like a stitched-together "before and after" picture, I'd believe
something was happening there (heck, that's a good enough idea
that I might just try it on myself someday!).

You want a fat-loss cream that works? Smear some fresh Wasabe
(Japanese hot sauce - kind of like biting down a hot chili
pepper) on EVERYTHING you eat. I can guarantee you'll lose fat
because soon you'll hardly be able to eat anything!


6. Massive Weight Gain Formulas

It's always struck me as ironic that all the "massive weight
gain" formulas show pictures of big, LEAN bodybuilders on the
front. I guess the big, fat, bloated reality of it just wouldn't
sell. Do we really need 3000 calories in a serving of anything?

If a supplement comes in a 40 pound bag and, if it was taken
according to directions, this bag would last you only 2 weeks,
it's no longer a supplement...it's an alternative source of
natural gas (if you or anyone you know has tried these
supplements, you'll know EXACTLY what I mean!).

A number of years ago, the "Weider" supplement company did a
research study on its "Mega Mass" weight gainer and saw an
impressive increase in bodyweight. What they didn't include in
their big glossy ads (for obvious reasons) was that people who
took an equal number of calories in the form of TABLE SUGAR
gained exactly the same amount of weight and muscle mass!

I'll let you draw your own conclusions but at least Hardee's
restaurant, with their new 1500 calorie fat-burger bomb, isn't
trying to fool people into thinking it's good for them. I can
respect that honesty. If you bite into that hamburger thinking
it's going to do you any good in any way, shape or form, then
push the meat back in as it slides out the back of the sandwich
and go buy your cardiologist a nice Christmas present.


7. Ready-To-Drink Protein Shakes

I want to shake the hand of whoever it was that first came to
the realization that people will gladly pay FOUR TIMES AS MUCH
for the exact same protein powder if you just add the water for
them. He or she is a marketing genius.


8. "Proprietary" Supplement Formulas

"Proprietary" can be a very "clean" way of saying "we don't want
to tell you how LITTLE there is of anything useful in this
product so we'll call it a 'secret' and not tell you."

Granted not all proprietary formulas are like this - some are
legitimate and useful. But if a product comes in a small 1000 mg
capsule, and has 18 ingredients in it, I suggest you find out the
effective doses of each of those ingredients. They may be
included and listed just to make the product look good.

For example, Phosphatidylserine is an excellent (and
scientifically-proven) cortisol-reducing supplement. It's
included in many cortisol-blocking formulas. But consider this:
an effective dose is 800 mg. If you can explain how they can
possibly fit an 800 mg dose in a 1000 mg pill that has 17 other
ingredients in it, I want you doing my taxes next year. On second
thought, maybe not...


9. The Majority of Informercially-Sold Exercise Equipment

Normally, I don't like to make blanket statements about entire
classes of exercise equipment but then again, sometimes I do.
Bottom line, much of the stuff sold on TV and infomercials is
just simply plastic-and-elastic junk pedalled to desperate people
looking for a quick fix.

I'm sure this does not really come as a terribly mind-blowing,
earth-shattering shock to you.

Until I watched these commercials a few times, I really never
realized how much of an awful hardship it was to lie down on the
floor and do a regular crunch. What a fool I was. Wouldn't our
hunting and gathering ancestors be proud.

And judging by the demonstrators on TV, some people can't
apparently even do a crunch without wrenching on their neck like
they're trying to pull their head out of something (or someplace
- I'll let you figure out where that might be).

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Conclusion:

The world will never be without terrible supplements or lousy
exercise equipment. As long as there's a buck to be made off of
people's laziness and insecurity, those things will exist. Your
best defense is knowledge, a willingness to do what's necessary,
and a good sense of humor when these things get just too stupid
to believe!

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