Sleeping Under a Blanket of Steroids
A few months ago, ESPN’s Patrick Hruby caught up with Victor Conte, the founder and president of Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) and penned an interesting article, “The Ringmaster Rolls On – He has been sent to prison, and blamed for sports’ biggest scandal, so why is Victor Conte smiling?”
If you don’t know about Conte – a brief synopsis…
His brainchild, BALCO, was a controversial sports nutrition center in Burlingame, California, which the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) says developed the banned steroid tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) with the help of bodybuilding chemist Patrick Arnold. MLBers Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds and gold medalist Marion Jones are some of the big names that have been linked with using Conte’s steroid elixirs.
Pursuant to a plea bargain struck with prosecutors, he entered guilty pleas in July 2005 to one count of conspiracy to distribute steroids and a second count of laundering a portion of a check, he was sentenced in October 2007 to spend four months in prison and another four on house arrest.
Despite Conte’s dabblings in illegal steroids, he has done some excellent work in the field of legal sports supplementation. In fact, BALCO was known for specializing in mineral and trace element assessment and research with elite Olympic and professional athletes. Based upon the athletes’ test results, Conte made specific nutritional supplementation recommendations and he found some interesting results.
For example, more than 70% of the 250 NFL players BALCO tested were deficient in both zinc and magnesium. Assessing mineral and trace element status is a difficult task. So, Conte analyze the elements in several different biological fluids and tissues [red blood cells, plasma, whole blood, urine, etc.]. A different type of information is obtained from each of these compartments. In addition, if an athlete is very dehydrated or has used anabolic agents, they will have an elevated hematocrit [thickened blood] and this will effect their mineral balance. Thus, the formation of ZMA.
ZMA is simple – it’s a zinc, magnesium and B-6 formulation. Conte was able to figure out the correct amount of each vitamin and mineral and a study was conducted at Western Washington University under the direction of Lorrie Brilla, PhD. The title of the abstract is “A Novel Zinc and Magnesium Formulation [ZMA] Increases Anabolic Hormones and Strength in Athletes.”
Dr. Brilla has summarized the study results as follows:
“A group of competitive NCAA football players who took ZMA nightly during an eight-week spring training program had 2.5 times greater strength gains than a group on the team taking a placebo. Pre- and post-leg strength measurements were made using a Biodex isokinetic dynamometer. The strength differences may have been mediated by the anabolic hormone increases in the ZMA group. The ZMA group had 30% increases in free and total testosterone levels, compared to 10% decreases in the placebo group. The ZMA group had a slight increase in IGF-1 levels, compared to a 20% decrease in the placebo group. This study shows that anabolic hormone and strength increases can be induced in already strength-trained athletes by using a novel zinc-magnesium preparation compared to a placebo.”
So, how does this apply to an everyday athletes? Well, ZMA should be taken on a fasted empty stomach. The most effective way to administer zinc supplementation is at night, about 30 minutes before bedtime. Its effect on healing, tissue repair, and muscle growth is maximized during sleep. The largest daily burst of natural growth hormone occurs during stage 3 and 4 sleep (about an hour and a half after going to sleep). The chief synergists that potentiate the effect of growth hormone are insulin, testosterone, zinc, and magnesium. So, this is the time you want zinc and magnesium at a peak level in the bloodstream.
As an avid user of ZMA, I’ve noticed the strength gains and recovery benefits. Additionally, I’ve experienced some intense dreams and a more restful sleep. Give it a shot and leave a comment!
[...] The 100m event is widely considered to be the showpiece of the Olympic games. But after the likes of Ben Johnson, Tim Montgomery and Justin Gaitlin, sprint events have increasingly come under suspicion. And although neither Powell, Gay or Bolt have had a history of doping, the pressure to perform and the nature of the competition cannot completely discount a rash decision or three. (Generally involving testosterone, stanozolol and new designer drugs cooked up in California) [...]
The dash of the titans - Blog of the Rings said this on August 12, 2008 at 3:41 am