Q & A by Dr. Mauro DiPasquale

I have a female athlete that is using the birth control pill. I was wondering if she could use a yohimbe product – do you know of any possible side effects from using the two simultaneously? Much appreciated.

Birth Control pills generally contain an estrogen and progestin. The estrogen is usually the same while the progestin varies according to whether it’s derived from 19-nortestosterone, progesterone, or even an aldosterone derivative (such as Yasmin). None of these have any significant interactions with yohimbine, although each of them singly can result in side effects.

Are there any supplements you should not take with ::  Testoboost :: and :: GHboost :: I am very concerned as I take a lot of supplements before bed.

You shouldn’t use any supplements that contain carbs as this will blunt the effects of GHboost on the nighttime spike of GH. If you’re fat adapted, i.e. following my Metabolic Diet, then fats before bed, including the essential fatty acids, aren’t a problem as the intake of fats does not effect the absorption of fats. However, if you’re a carb burner and depend on carbs, you’ll find that taking fats at bedtime will slow the absorption of some of the ingredients in TestoBoost and GHboost. Other than those caveats, almost anything is fair game.

I’ve read here and there that low reps at a high fraction of one’s 1RM tends to boost testosterone while high reps at a low fraction boosts GH (a response to the higher lactate produced by the latter type of exercise). Is this right? I’m changing back and forth between the two types of exercise every 3rd or 4th time (for each set of muscles – back, chest, etc.) as a kind of periodization, and will eventually have enough empirical evidence to make up my own mind about the results, but any pointers you can furnish would be a great help.

The factors involved in modulating testosterone and GH levels are complex and far from being completely worked out. For example, while there are a lot of theories as to what increases GH (everything from the buildup of various metabolites, depletion of glycolytic and TCA substrates to lack of oxygen), it hasn’t been nailed down as yet. The overview is that working the big muscle groups using heavy weights over a reasonable period of time will increase both GH and testosterone, although there will be some individual variation as well as some effect from maximizing nutrition in and around training. The bottom line however, is to find out what works best for you by doing exactly what you’re doing now, experimenting.

What, how often, and how much should I eat the day of a bodybuilding competition? Should I carb load with something different the week before?

You should have worked out your best precompetition carb intake in the weeks prior to the competition. You need to know what kind of carbs, and when to take them so that you’re at your best the day of the show, not one or two days after. Once you work out what works best for you, don’t make any changes precompetition or at competition time.

The last month I have been lifting using your 5,4,3,2,1 system.very weights, weight starting at 80% of 1 rep max for the 5 rep first set then adding 3% to the bar. Using this method I have increased both my muscle growth and ability to recover! I believe this is due to the short duration and high intensity of your 5,4,3,2,1, system. I only do two major body parts per workout with compound exercises. i.e. chest and arms – I do bench presses and standing bb curls. legs and back – I do squats and deadlifts only lifting two days a week and I feel great and I am growing! Is this program okay?

Your training routine, is a natural for an 8 week routine. After that you might want to switch into a more moderate phase.

Dr. DiPasquale, I realize that eating food with trans fat is undesirable, but also sometimes unavoidable, is there anything that I can do about the trans fats already in my body?

Fats turn over constantly in the body and are broken down, oxidized resynthesized, replaced etc. so the trick is to keep away from the trans fats and replace them with :: good fats ::  After a few months the trans fats will have decreased appreciably. A complete :: multivitamin :: and Antioxants will help minimize the trans fats damage right now. Also they’re useful to keep taking if you’re concerned about future trans fats intake.

:: Dr. Mauro Di Pasquale :: is one of the most influential voices on diet, performance and athletic training in the world. His innovative work in finding safe nutritional alternatives to anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs has won him praise from athletes, trainers and fitness experts around the globe. Dr. Di Pasquale was a world-class athlete for over 15 years, winning the World Championships in powerlifting in 1976 and world games in 1981.