New Muscle Growth. It's What You Train For, Right?
Unfortunately, during intense exercise, the release of hydrogen ions are accelerated, followed by a decrease in pH levels - a process called "muscular acidosis" - which is directly associated with muscle fatigue, weakness, and ultimately physical exhaustion.
New research indicates the patent-pending nutrient matrix, found only in H-Blocker, rapidly aids in the synthesis of carnosine, which soaks up muscle-fatiguing hydrogen ions like a sponge and stabilizes pH levels in skeletal muscles... thereby allowing you to experience immediate, explosive strength gains, greater muscular contractions, and noticeably delay the onset of muscular fatigue. That means you'll be able to push out more reps and heavier weights with less fatigue and faster recovery. As a result, the total workload and intensity you normally train at will now dramatically increase.
Translated: H+Blocker - from the very first dose - promotes muscular power and strength, so you can pack on more new muscle, faster and easier, than you ever imagined.
H+Blocker Facts You Need to Know:
- World's First, and Most Powerful Beta-Alanine Formula/Carnosine Booster
- Delivers Immediate, Explosive Strength and Power Gains!
- Produces On-Going, Permanent Muscle Growth, Through the Influence of Type IIx Muscle Fibers
- Works From the Very First Dose and Every Time Afterward
- Patent-Pending Nutrient Matrix - Cannot Be Duplicated!
H-Blocker Frequently Asked Questions
What is H+Blocker?
H+Blocker is the world's first carnosine synthesizer/muscle intensifier... used before intense exercise to block hydrogen, stabilize pH, and prevent "metabolic acidosis."
The main active compound, found only in H+Blocker, is an exclusive bonded form of beta-alanine and L-histidine with aspartic acid called beta-alanyl-l-aspartyl-l-histidine.
These nutrients are the natural biological precursors for carnosine. When you take H+Blocker, beta-alanyl-l-aspartyl-l-histidine ride a metabolic express lane all the way to your muscles, where they are used to increase the muscle carnosine stores in your muscles.
This results in enhanced high-intensity workout performance, increased strength and muscle mass, and faster recovery, when combined with intense weight training and a good, healthy diet.
How does H+Blocker work?
During intense exercise, the release of hydrogen ions (H+) are accelerated in the muscle; followed by a simultaneous decrease in pH levels—a process called "metabolic acidosis"—which is directly associated with muscle fatigue, weakness, and ultimately physical exhaustion (often referred to as "muscle failure"). This increase in H+ and decreased pH slows both the production of ATP—our bodies' natural source of energy—and inhibits the actual process of contraction within the muscle.
New research indicates H+Blocker's patent-pending nutrient matrix increases the synthesis of carnosine. Carnosine is a di-peptide that binds to the fatigue-causing hydrogen ions, thereby delaying the decline in pH and the inevitable onset of muscular fatigue. As a result, the total workload and intensity you normally train at will now dramatically increase.
What does the research say about carnosine synthesis and muscular performance?
Two recent clinical studies have indicated that carnosine is preferentially concentrated in the Type II muscle fibers. This is even more apparent in the Type IIx fibers, which provide the fast-twitch muscle characteristics needed to propel world-class sprinters like Maurice Greene. Or, better stated to those who lift weights, Type II muscle fibers are what most of the top professional bodybuilders have more of, versus Type I fibers. This, in theory, might be why it could be easier for them to build faster, larger, and more muscular bodies than the rest of us.
If I'm trying to increase my muscle carnosine levels, why doesn't H+Blocker contain carnosine?
Carnosine is made up of the amino acids beta-alanine and L-histidine. H+Blocker contains these carnosine precursors in a special bond with aspartic acid (beta-alanyl-l-aspartyl-l-histidine) that represents the absolute most efficient way to supplement for carnosine loading. A carnosine-boosting supplement containing actual carnosine would cost a lot more, without being any more effective (simply because your gut destroys most of the carnosine before it ever reaches the muscles, rendering it literally useless).
How do I take H+Blocker for optimal results?
As the label recommends, consume one serving (a single scoop) of H+Blocker, mixed with eight ounces of water, about 20 to 30 minutes prior to intense exercise. On non-training days, consume one serving immediately following your morning meal. If you're over 200 lbs in bodyweight or want to magnify your workout intensity, however, we suggest you consume two scoops before exercise.
What kind of results can I expect from using H+Blocker?
You will feel the muscle-stimulating effects of H+Blocker from the very first dose. You will immediately experience stronger muscle contractions, greater muscle fullness, and a noticeable delay in the onset of muscular fatigue, allowing you to train harder, longer, with less recovery time between reps, sets, and workouts. These benefits will become rapidly more pronounced for three to four weeks, but, according to the latest research, will likely continue to accumulate for many more weeks.
Even more exciting, research involving the active ingredients in H+Blocker shows that benefits are still on an upward slope for as long as you continue to supplement with it. It's for this reason we believe H+Blocker is the most exciting muscle-building performance enhancer to come along since the arrival of creatine in 1993.
Do I need to "load" or "cycle" H+Blocker?
If you have taken a creatine supplement, chances are the product label has instructed you to start with a higher dosage (usually 20 grams per day) for several days and then ease back to a lower dosage (usually five grams per day) for continued supplementation.
Taking a higher initial dosage of a supplement such as creatine is called "loading." Research has shown that the fastest and most efficient way to increase muscle creatine stores is to divide supplementation into separate loading and long-term supplementation phases.
However, when it comes to carnosine-boosting supplementation, loading is not necessary. The same dosage of H+Blocker recommended for initial loading, a single serving taken daily, is also recommended for long-term supplementation.
Most creatine users are also familiar with the practice of "cycling." This refers to the strategy of taking the supplement daily for many weeks and then discontinuing supplementation for a shorter period before resuming daily supplementation.
Research has shown that cycling prevents creatine users from developing a high tolerance for creatine supplementation that makes it less effective in the long term.
We need to do more research before we know whether cycling is necessary with carnosine-boosting supplementation, and if so, what sort of schedule works best. Until these questions are answered, cycling should be considered optional with H+Blocker.
You can either wait until you reach a strength or performance plateau and then cease H+Blocker supplementation for two or four weeks, or follow a traditional eight- to 12-week "on" period followed by a two- to four-week "off" period. However, taking H+Blocker for any extended period of time, well beyond eight weeks, should continue to produce results that are consistent and keep you satisfied and wanting to continue taking it. As long as you keep getting greater and greater benefits from H+Blocker, you may want to keep supplementing with it.
Are there any known side effects?
There are no known negative health effects associated with carnosine-boosting supplementation. In fact, in studies, using beta-alanine supplementation of up to five grams per day has revealed no negative effects on a variety of health markers. Short-term supplementation lasting one month showed no impact on liver, kidney, or heart function or on blood chemistry.
As with most supplements, more research is needed to determine the effects of long-term supplementation, but based on the known effects of these amino acids in the body, and considering they are naturally found in certain foods, like turkey, there is no reason to anticipate that any problems would ever be discovered.
What is that tingling sensation I experience after taking H+Blocker?
Approximately half of H+Blocker users notice a tingling sensation. It's technically called parathesia. It usually starts during the workout following H+Blocker supplementation and goes away after a few minutes.
Most people feel it in the upper extremities—especially the face, chest, shoulders, and upper arms and hands. This harmless side effect of H+Blocker is due in part to beta-alanine's actions as a neurotransmitter. In non-scientific terms, beta-alanine basically "tickles" your brain cells, producing that tingling sensation in the most extreme nerve endings throughout the body. Those who do experience parathesia at first generally report that it diminishes or disappears altogether after two or three weeks of consistent supplementation.
It's important to understand that parathesia is totally independent of H+Blocker's effects on muscle carnosine. The tingling sensation that some H+Blocker users experience is not a sign that the product is working. Likewise, the absence of parathesia in other H+Blocker users is not a sign that the product is not working. Nor is the disappearance of parathesia after several weeks of supplementation a sign that H+Blocker has stopped working.
I weigh more than 200 pounds. Do I need to adjust the dosage for my size?
Yes. If you're over 200 pounds in bodyweight, or want to magnify your workout intensity, we'd suggest you consume two scoops before exercise, which would allow you to get 6.4 grams in total of the active components in H+Blocker. Remember, though, as with all supplements, more is not necessarily always better.
H+Blocker is engineered to work optimally with a single usage each day. Taking any more than two scoops a day is unlikely to produce better results.
I heard the taste of H+Blocker has a bit of a "kick"; can you explain that?
Most amino acids are hard to work with from a flavor standpoint, but beta-alanine is perhaps the most pungent and bitter amino acid of all. We worked really hard to create a drink mix that people will find palatable, and we made a lot of progress, but we'll be honest: H+Blocker's "Spiked Fruit Punch" flavor is an acquired taste. It's not something the average person would drink on the front porch for refreshment on a hot summer day. That said, most users find that the taste does grow on them over time. (And, we're currently developing a reformulated H+Blocker, with improved flavor.)
Can I take H+Blocker with a creatine product?
Yes. In fact, supplements such as creatine, consumed post-workout, may actually increase the overall effectiveness of H+Blocker. If you are going to use a creatine supplement, I recommend 3-XL.
Also developed by iSatori, 3-XL is, by far, the most advanced creatine formula on the market. 3-XL is a powdered drink mix, engineered to improve the absorption and retention of creatine using a novel form of creatine hydrochloride. What's great about creatine ester is that it requires a lower dosage than monohydrate, and there's no "cycling" or "loading" required... and best of all, it doesn't cause the famous creatine "water bloat" either.
You can use H+Blocker before your workouts and 3-XL immediately following your workouts, and you'll find they work marvelously well together. To date, we've heard of nothing less than spectacular results from people who have used these two research-based supplements together.
H+BLOCKER INGREDIENT INFORMATION
Beta-Alanine (3-aminopropanoic acid), although vital for the synthesis of carnosine, has been relatively unstudied until recently. But in 1994, beta-alanine's potential for synthesizing carnosine was first described in cell cultures studies. Following work by Dr. Mark Dunnett (who incidentally studied under Professor Roger Harris for his doctorate in carnosine metabolism in equine physiology), Dr. Mark Tallon demonstrated that the use of 100 mg.kg-1 bw of beta-alanine for 30 days combined with histidine enhanced muscle carnosine by 18% in type IIb fibers.
Although this is interesting, there were no human studies. This soon changed, however, with research presented at the American College of Sports Medicine in 2003 on beta-alanine feeding in humans (800 mg taken four times a day for five weeks).
The Aspartate + Histidine mix is an EXCLUSIVE carnosine-enhancement combo. Why is this combo so vital for carnosine synthesis? The same authors who identified many of the vital functions of carnosine have shown Beta-l-Aspartyl-l-Histidine to be the natural biological precursor for carnosine. As such, it may be metabolized in a similar way as carnosine.
Aonuma et al. (1969) suggested that aspartate added to beta-alanine increases synthesis of muscle carnosine. In addition, histidine given to individuals who are not deficient in dietary histidine (i.e., meat eaters) causes no change in muscle carnosine, which may suggest that aspartyl may better support carnosine synthesis. So by giving Aspartyl-l-Histidine as two separate amino acids (l-histidine and aspartate), we can provide a new ratio of the component amino acids (aspartate and histidine) not delivered in the Aspartyl-l-Histidine compound. By manipulating this compound, we can better enhance muscle carnosine stores by focusing on higher aspartate content and a L-histidine dose already shown to support carnosine synthesis.
Caffeine: For muscle to contract, calcium must be able to leave the muscle. One way of encouraging this is through a receptor (think of it as a transport system) called a Ryanodine Receptor (RR). During intense exercise, the release of calcium ions may be prevented, causing a decline in the ability of your muscles to contract and produce force. Carnosine has been shown to stimulate RR mediated calcium release from the muscle.
So wouldn't it be great if we could assess the influence of this on force production and more importantly enhance it? Evidence has shown carnosine can not only do this, but in one of the most recent papers, we've found these effects of carnosine can be further enhanced with the addition of caffeine. This study demonstrated that the combination of these two compounds significantly enhanced the ability of human muscle fibers to prolong the generation of force via increased efficiency in the release of calcium by the RR system. Therefore, we have recreated this based on proven dose of carnosine-enhancing nutrients and caffeine at a dose already clinically proven to extend performance in its own right.
Zinc and Magnesium: The most common nutrients to influence testosterone are the minerals magnesium and zinc. Taking a closer look at zinc, we find a nutrient linked to hundreds of physiological processes in our bodies, but no doubt one of the most important is the maintenance and support of testosterone production.
Studies have shown that at least 68% of adult diets (according to the USDA) have some level of zinc deficiency. That's seven in 10 guys out there, and if you happen to be exercising on a daily basis, it's even worse due to losses of zinc from sweating and increased metabolic rates.
Magnesium, another mineral that modulates rate-limiting enzymes, also plays crucial roles in the maintenance of muscle excitability and nerve conduction (linked to your ability to produce power). Like zinc, daily intakes of magnesium are far below those recommended for normal health, not to mention those needed to support highly active lifestyles. To make matters worse, during and following intense exercise, there is a significant loss of magnesium in sweat and urine. Because of this, many of the biochemical functions magnesium and zinc support may be compromised. In fact, it has been shown that these decrease in zinc and magnesium may lead to fatigue, decreased endurance capacity, and a decline in hormonal adaptations directly linked to resistance exercise.
In 2000, researchers from Western Washington University came up with a combination of ingredients including magnesium and a duel combination zinc supplement that have resulted in some pretty amazing outcomes, not only on exercise performance but on the concentration of hormones that are directly linked to increased muscle growth and better body composition.
Over an eight-week period, 57 resistance trained athletes were given zinc and magnesium based supplementation. The result? Increased testosterone, increased IGF-1, and increased muscle strength. These results show that in correct doses, these nutrients significantly enhance performance. But the story doesn't end there...
In late 2003, a research group from Spain examined the effects of elevating testosterone levels on muscle carnosine concentrations in rats. The resultant influence of increased testosterone is an elevation of carnosine by a massive 268%. Although the testosterone increase was well above that achievable through dietary supplementation, there is a clear relationship between the uptake and synthesis of carnosine in muscle and circulating testosterone levels. In a biopsy study ran on bodybuilders showing elevated muscle carnosine concentrations, similar androgen influencing mechanism were suggested to exist in human tissues. Whether the mechanism is increased carnosine synthesis in muscle or increased transport of amino acids histidine and beta-alanine is only a point of scientific interest. The real story is that by elevating testosterone in our bodies, we enhance our muscles' carnosine stores. For this reason, we are giving you the exact level of zinc and magnesium to provide you with just this effect!
Carbohydrates, Caffeine, Sodium, and Chloride. Beta-alanine, as mentioned earlier, is a fairly simple molecule made up of a few amino acids, but its transport system is another matter. It seems by coincidence that beta-alanine, like creatine, owes its ability to pass into the muscle on the well-known metabolites sodium (Na) and chloride (Cl). These two co-factors help "piggy-back" beta-alanine into muscle. However, the exact ratio of Na and Cl needed to promote beta-alanine transport from the intestine directly to the muscles via its transport proteins is not 100% known. What we do know is the transport system is remarkably similar to that discovered for creatine.
This is where H+Blocker's novel delivery system begins to take shape, advancing the delivery of one of its key components: "beta-alanine." Therefore, it's no surprise to find a ratio of sodium and chloride ions (2:1 ratio) proven to enhance beta-amino acid uptake in H+Blocker.
The iSatori team didn't want to stop just there, so we pushed the envelope out even further with this product by using study data not even released in peer review journals but just presented at the world-renowned Experimental Biology conference in San Diego:
We wanted a new way to stimulate beta-alanine uptake in muscle tissue without giving massive amounts of sugars. As is already known, sugars cause the release of insulin, and this stimulate the sodium transport system allowing greater uptake of any amino acid including beta-alanine into the muscle. What we needed was a way to elevate blood insulin levels as fast as possible by getting any carbohydrates we included in H+Blocker through the gut and into blood. To achieve this, we have adopted two new concepts to increase the absorption of carbohydrates, including the forms of carbohydrates used and the effect of caffeine on glucose uptake.
To date, 14 transporters for sugars (carbohydrates) have been identified by Shi and colleagues (1995), including the distinct transporters for glucose, fructose, and sucrose. What does this mean when it comes to glucose absorption? Well, if we're interested in optimizing your blood glucose levels or increasing insulin levels as a way of enhancing beta-alanine uptake (which we are), this data suggests it may be wise to use a combination of carbohydrate sources rather than, say, purely a maltodextrin source.
Here's why...
Imagine you have marbles of different sizes and shape (carbs) and you have two buckets—one filled with 100 of one type of marble and the other with a combination of three marbles of different sizes (also totaling 100). Next think of a large bag (small intestine) punctured with 60 different sized holes (carbohydrate transporters) that fit different sized marbles. Which bucket do you think will empty into the bag quicker? The answer should be the combination bucket as the other will have access to only one size of hole rather than MANY to fall through.
Based on this simplified theory, 10 grams of an individual sugar (glucose) would elevate blood insulin levels slower than if we gave 10 grams of glucose, fructose, and sucrose as they will pass through the intestinal wall at a faster rate, providing a greater insulin response and increase the rate of sodium dependant amino acid absorption, including beta-alanine.
Carbohydrate oxidation means the amount of carbohydrate your body burns to produce energy. In a study by Yeo and colleagues (2005), a mix of carbohydrates with the well-known stimulant caffeine was compared with carbohydrates alone. This study assessed the increase in plasma glucose between the two supplement forms, and there was a 26% increase in carbohydrate use! This substantial increase in oxidation of carbohydrates could help maintain muscle and liver glycogen stores, reduce time to fatigue, and increase insulin levels at a much faster rate than carbohydrates given alone.
These two novel approaches for insulin enhancement will increase the uptake of beta-alanine into muscle at a rapidly enhanced rate, allowing a faster rise in muscle carnosine levels. The take-home message for you is enhanced performance levels in record time!
Formulated By Dr. Mark J. Tallon received his Ph.D. from Southampton University in Muscle Biochemistry. He has worked with some of the world's leading biochemists, including world-renowned creatine researcher Professor Roger Harris. He has a broad interest in exercise physiology and nutrition, with special expertise in nutritional biochemistry and its applications in the enhancement of elite athletic performance. Dr. Tallon also holds a first degree with honors in exercise physiology, a master's degree in nutrition science, and a Ph.D. in nutritional biochemistry.
Dr. Tallon worked as a key consultant to many companies, including Labrada Inc, iSatori, and EAS, to name a few. Until recently, Dr. Tallon was Chief Science Officer of Oxygenix Ltd, a consultancy firm specializing in European, Pan-American, and Asian regulatory compliance of dietary supplements. Dr. Tallon is currently a member of the Institute of Biology and the Nutrition Society of Great Britain and through these societies is currently registered as a certified biologist and nutritionist. Other affiliations include Institute of Food Technologists, American Botanical Council, American College of Nutrition, The Physiological Society, and the American Medical Writers Association.