Calling out Muscle News...

[terminator6600]

With my most recent order, BB.com threw in their usual goodies, as well as the latest issue of Muscle News. This was my first bodybuilding mag read, and I kind of expected something more. I read each article with the bull**** meter going higher and higher. They were offering fairly solid advice, but throughout the entire magazine, there were about 20 1-2 page spreads for NX Labs, who I've never heard of before picking up this magazine. As I dug deeper in the articles, I noticed almost every article had a plug for NX Labs. Here's a quote from an article about gaining:

[With eating all this food] Of course, the burning question is, 'Will I get fat?' You will get big - not shredded, but you'll add muscle. It's the price of doing business. You won't get fat if you follow this program exactly (and do what I do, which is keep cranking the Methyl Ripped (NX Labs fat burner) in the morning and prior to training).

The entire magazine is just like this - a 98 page advertisement for NX Labs, Underground Labs, and a few plugs here and there for Universal. Better yet, right on the cover, and that article I quoted is aptly named: "Gain 20 Pounds of Muscle In 20 Days!".

Whoa. Since when did MuscleTech change their name to NX Labs and start publishing a magazine?

It's not a bad magazine.. it's fairly well layed out and brings in some interesting articles, but you really have to cut through all the supplement pushing bull to really get to the meat of the strong advice. I realize they're just trying to sell their products, as is everyone in every industry, but come on.. maybe they should try writing more advice and supplement their articles with supplement advice.

On another note, they talk a lot about, suggest the use of, and offer advice about steroids - both oral and intraveinous. Not a good thing to be pushing to the teen BB community - that's why we have 13 year olds coming here asking what the best PCT for their Superdrol cycle they just finished is.

[terminator6600]

On a related note, after looking up the proclaimed NxLabs products, I am disappointed but unsuprised to see they're nothing special.

Methyl Ripped:
This one's funny.. they use steroid and banned substance-sounding names in their proprietary compounds.

CLENADRINE? (Extreme Thermogenic Complex) (We all know Clenbuterol was banned for weight loss use a while ago..)
Di-Caffeine Alpha-Ketoglutarate, Di-Caffeine Malate, Esterified Green Tea Extract [Standardized For 45% Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) Ester, 2% Epicatechin Gallate (ECG) Ester, 2% Gallocatechin Gallate (GCG) Ester, 1% Catechin Gallate (CG) Ester], Salix Matsudana, Isohumulones, Evodiamine HCL, Octopamine HCL, Tyramine HCL.

CYTO-T3? (Xtreme Thyroid Stimulating Complex) 50mg ?
Bacopa Monnieri, Gugglesterones E&Z HCL. Current speculation that gugglesterones are bad..

DNP-X? (Uncoupling Protein Complex) 50mg ? (contains no dinitrophenol, which was proven unsafe for ingestion and banned.. lol)
S-Allyl-L-Cysteine, (E)-N-[(4-Hydroxy-3-Methoxyphenyl) Methyl]-8-Methyl-6-Nonenamide.

CC-VOL? (Cortisol Control Complex) 50mg ?
Ashwagandha, Phosphatidylserine, Beta-Sitosterol, Theanine.

CYCLO-AMP? (Xtreme Cyclic AMP Stimulating Complex) 50mg ?
Clary Sage Extract, Forskolin, CAMP, Amentoflavone.

Betadrol? (Receptor Upregulating Complex) 50mg ? (Betadrol = the newest steroid? lol.. everyone knows Raspberry Ketones are 'roids)
Raspberry Ketone, DNA, RNA, Crataegus Monogyna.

AbsorbMax? (Rapid Absorption Complex) 5mg ?
Piper Nigrum

Betasine:
Betaphosphate?(Rapid Muscle Carnosine ATP Synthesizer) 1600mg
Beta Alanine(Featuring Nano Drive? Technology) ?
Creatine Ethyl Ester ?
Beta Alanine Ethyl Ester ?
Carnosine Ethyl Ester ?
Carnosine ?

Intensi-Fire?(Hardcore Intensity Activatory) 75mg
1,3,7-Trimethylxanthine ?
N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine ?
GinkolideXP? Ginkgo Extract(Ginkgo Biloba)[Standardized For 24% Flavonoids, 6% Terpene Lactones, 5% Ginkolides (A, B & C), Bilobalides, 2.4%]

Creatine, Beta Alanine, Carnosine, and Ginko. $34.99. The directions say to take 4 caplets 2x daily, or for maximum effect take 8 caplets 2x daily.. sounds like Leukic..

Anavol Hardcore: (Hardcore.. hmm.. MT?)
Hydraprime? (Instant Muscle Volumizing Expander)[Featuring Nano-Drive? Technology] 2825mg - Nano-Drive?.. sounds like Nano-Diffuse..
Crea-Vol? (Creatine Alpha-Ketoglutarate, Creatine Ethyl Ester Hydrochloride, Creatine Gluconate) ?
Gluta-Vol? (L-Glutamine, L-Glutamine Alpha-Ketoglutarate) ?
L-Taurine ?
Glycerol Monostearate ?

Anagrow (Rapid Lean Muscle Building Activator) 1020mg
L-Leucine ?
L-Arginine Alpha-Ketoglutarate ?
Citri-Vol? (Citrulline Alpha-Ketoglutarate, Citrulline Malate) ?
Forslean? Forskohlii Extract (Coleus Forskohlii)(Root)[40% Forskolin] ?
Brown Seaweed Extract (Undaria Pinnatifida)(Whole Plant)[30% Fucodian] ?
Cinnulin PF? Cinnamon Extract (Cinnamomum Cassia)(Bark)[3% Trimeric And Tetrameric Type-A Polymers] ?

Intensi-Fire? (Intensity Activator) 150mg
1,3,7-Trimethylxanthine ?
N-Acetyl Tyrosine ?
Ginkgolide XP? Ginkgo Extract (Ginkgo Biloba)(Leaf)[24% Flavone Glycosides, 6% Terpene Lactones, Contains Ginkgolides A, B, C & Bilobalides

Leucine and Arginine are severely underdosed, and one serving is 6 caplets, which you're expected to take 2x daily. $30.99 for 15 days worth.


Uh huh. As a side note, most of those question marks are TMs, asterisks, or spears. For some reason, the forums won't show them.

[HSP10]

It's probably a magazine dedicated to NxLabs. Some magazines are like that. For example, Body & Style is a magazine dedicated to BSN. I have the premiere issue which on the front it says "Gain One Inch on Your Arms in 24 Hours," which pretty much explains it all...

[terminator6600]

It's probably a magazine dedicated to NxLabs. Some magazines are like that. For example, Body & Style is a magazine dedicated to BSN. I have the premiere issue which on the front it says "Gain One Inch on Your Arms in 24 Hours," which pretty much explains it all...

Most likely. It's published by 'WELLNX Life Sciences Inc.' - it just pisses me off that even the supplement companies don't understand that supplements are best used to be supplemental to a good diet, exercise, and rest, and you just can't get 8.2lb of mass in a week with creatine..

[HSP10]

Most likely. It's published by 'WELLNX Life Sciences Inc.' - it just pisses me off that even the supplement companies don't understand that supplements are best used to be supplemental to a good diet, exercise, and rest, and you just can't get 8.2lb of mass in a week with creatine..

It's mainly for advertising. I think I got the issue from getting something at GNC and it came with it.

[dizi24]

My roomate reads these muscle magazines. They're just giant supplement ads with occasional articles, which just hype more supplements. I don't even bother looking at them.

[terminator6600]

It's mainly for advertising. I think I got the issue from getting something at GNC and it came with it.

Yeah. I just think it's funny how they make it so obvious that the only reason they wrote it was to plug their stuff, and they hire some official sounding people to write rave reviews of their stuff embedded in their advice when it's easy to figure out their stuff isn't all that hot or revolutionary and just insanely overhyped and overpimped.

[N4cer]

On another note, they talk a lot about, suggest the use of, and offer advice about steroids - both oral and intraveinous.

OMG! IV steroids? LOL sorry I had to.

I actually do agree with you about the magazines though. I try to keep in mind that it IS an advertisement. It's pretty simple to understand really. I just think it's an insult to all of our intelligence that supp companies print this stuff. It's even more pathetic that people believe the ads.

[HSP10]

Yeah. I just think it's funny how they make it so obvious that the only reason they wrote it was to plug their stuff, and they hire some official sounding people to write rave reviews of their stuff embedded in their advice when it's easy to figure out their stuff isn't all that hot or revolutionary and just insanely overhyped and overpimped.

Well, the advertisements are great to influence unwise teenagers or unexperienced adults to buy their products and cash. Usually the only thing their products burn is the pocketbook.

However, I do like NxLabs. I enjoyed Methyl Ripped and I was also pleasantly surprised by Plasmavol.

[terminator6600]

OMG! IV steroids? LOL sorry I had to.

I actually do agree with you about the magazines though. I try to keep in mind that it IS an advertisement. It's pretty simple to understand really. I just think it's an insult to all of our intelligence that supp companies print this stuff. It's even more pathetic that people believe the ads.

Lol..

Yeah. It's companies like these that really rely on the hype advertising to survive. The way I see it, honestly most of us have tried a MuscleTech product once, maybe twice, then realized it was overpriced and last year's science, and moved on. I'll admit I've used Hydroxycut Hardcore, Leukic, Hydrazide, and naNO Vapor. Hydroxycut Hardcore was my first supplement ever that I ran a full cycle of (I played around with Redline RTD before, mostly for energy). I've actually ran a full cycle of Hydroxycut Hardcore twice, because both times it was on sale (the 210 gelcap bottle). I tried Leukic and Hydrazide with the Shredded Stack I took for review purposes. I bought naNO Vapor because I wanted to take creatine and NO, and thought it would be easier and more effective to take one supplement instead of two or more.

Every single time I've found a cheaper, more effective, less hyped, and more revolutionary supplement to replace the MuscleTech product. With this in mind, MuscleTech probably realizes that people move on from their products after one or two cycles, so they need extreme amounts of hype advertising to lure in newbies so they can stay in business. NxLabs seems no different.

Well, the advertisements are great to influence unwise teenagers or unexperienced adults to buy their products and cash. Usually the only thing their products burn is the pocketbook.

However, I do like NxLabs. I enjoyed Methyl Ripped and I was also pleasantly surprised by Plasmavol.

Well yeah, I didn't say Methyl or PVol wouldn't work, I was just unimpressed that their proprietary compounds are named like they're AASs or banned compounds, have ridiculous serving sizes, are underdosed, and overpriced. It's like MuscleTech. They have solid products, but you can do so much better for the money.

[Arlecchino]

Most likely. It's published by 'WELLNX Life Sciences Inc.' - it just pisses me off that even the supplement companies don't understand that supplements are best used to be supplemental to a good diet, exercise, and rest, and you just can't get 8.2lb of mass in a week with creatine..

I am fairly certain they understand that, and so are you, I suspect, but if they said 95-99% of what people accomplish has nothing to do with supplements, they would go out of business.

Not that this would be bad thing, in some cases. I really despise hype.

[N4cer]

Terminator6600: I think you missed the point. It's intramuscular. You don't inject androgens IV.

[terminator6600]

I am fairly certain they understand that, and so are you, I suspect, but if they said 95-99% of what people accomplish has nothing to do with supplements, they would go out of business.

Not that this would be bad thing, in some cases. I really despise hype.

I dunno.. I think we'd respect these supplement companies and be much more loyal to them if they actually stood behind their products, gave reasonable claims, actually did research for new compounds that provided solid results, and maybe even offered tips and advice for using them with proper training and eating protocols. Hearing that you can't get ripped from taking a magic pill sure isn't what the public wants to hear, but you find out one way or another, and I think if they put out honest, reasonable claims to begin with they wouldn't have so many customers jumping ship.

Of course what I say isn't going to make a difference since a good majority of the supplement industry is like this. Of course there are good companies out there that do their homework and don't claim their creatine will make you jacked without even touching a barbell.

[terminator6600]

Terminator6600: I think you missed the point. It's intramuscular. You don't inject androgens IV.

Lol.. I wouldn't know, man.. never juiced the juice. They were just talking about 'injectable steroids' and I figured they were intraveinous.

[DFA]

[Arlecchino]

I dunno.. I think we'd respect these supplement companies and be much more loyal to them if they actually stood behind their products, gave reasonable claims, actually did research for new compounds that provided solid results, and maybe even offered tips and advice for using them with proper training and eating protocols. Hearing that you can't get ripped from taking a magic pill sure isn't what the public wants to hear, but you find out one way or another, and I think if they put out honest, reasonable claims to begin with they wouldn't have so many customers jumping ship.

Of course what I say isn't going to make a difference since a good majority of the supplement industry is like this. Of course there are good companies out there that do their homework and don't claim their creatine will make you jacked without even touching a barbell.

Oh I certainly agree about the respect issue, especially in regards to label claims. However, I have no use for hype of any sort, and most advertising claims seem to fall into this category for me. One of the reasons why I never even pick up muscle mags, etc.

[N4cer]

Oh I certainly agree about the respect issue, especially in regards to label claims. However, I have no use for hype of any sort, and most advertising claims seem to fall into this category for me. One of the reasons why I never even pick up muscle mags, etc.

It would prove more effective to not buy the supps.

[Arlecchino]

It would prove more effective to not buy the supps.

Agreed. I do not buy many for just this reason. There are some that I could possibly get some use out of, but my level of distrust is very high, and I see nothing to change that. While there are some companies I do trust, most of their products I cannot or will not use (PH-type items), so this rules out many others.

And the thing is, over time, in-house quality control is really not that difficult.

[terminator6600]

It would prove more effective to not buy the supps.

I wouldn't say for the majority of them it wouldn't prove them to be more effective to not buy them, I think it would rule some out for sure, but even just caffeine by itself has been shown to raise metabolism a small amount. I think it's the difference between calling a thermogenic a 'fat loss supplement', and calling a thermogenic a 'space age fat incinerating complex' that makes it so deceiving. People would of course buy the 'space age fat incinerating complex', even if it had a higher price and the exact same ingredients all because it sounds more effective.

Now days, the fewer claims the bottle makes, the better.

[MattyH7688]

breaking News: Supplement Companies Lie In Ads And Man Walks On Moon

[terminator6600]

breaking News: Supplement Companies Lie In Ads And Man Walks On Moon

Never said this was a new phenomena. Just ranting that MN is nothing but a 98 page ad.

[DFA]

breaking News: Supplement Companies Lie In Ads And Man Walks On Moon

ROFL!!...

NXLabs has more ads then anything in Ironman mag also ( lest the one issue I bought)... If thats how its working for them to make millions then thats ok by me..anyone who falls for crazy absurd ads ( not just in supplements but anything) is just another mind warped consumer..its just called the real media world. We get told what we want the for some weird ass reason are brain thinks we need it.../rant..

[Purge]

However, I do like NxLabs. I enjoyed Methyl Ripped and I was also pleasantly surprised by Plasmavol.

Same here; all gimmicky ads aside, Methyl Ripped is one of my favorite supplements.

[anth28]

This is why I don't read muscle mags...

[Taurus Rising]

Body & Style is a magazine dedicated to BSN. I have the premiere issue which on the front it says "Gain One Inch on Your Arms in 24 Hours,"

can you scan that for me? I need to jack ma fibraz by monday.

[Fisher33]

Never said this was a new phenomena. Just ranting that MN is nothing but a 98 page ad.

Sounds like...

Muscle and Fitness and Flex