Muscle Ventures Podcasts

It's hard to believe, but we are one week from Nancy Arnold's competition on April 29. In this conversation, I talk with Nancy about her final game plan (download the 35 MB Quicktime video by clicking on Nancy's picture). Nancy has decided, in consultation with Kevin her diet consultant, to alter her carb depletion regimen by supplementing with Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT). The theory behind MCTs is that they provide a more easily digested fat that can act as an energy source, raising the metabolic rate, and thus increasing the rate of glycogen reduction. Recall that the goal of carb depletion is to initially reduce glycogen before reloading it back into the muscles so that they look relatively larger.

The press on the effectiveness of MCTs is highly mixed. Even sellers of MCTs, such as bodybuilding.com, note that they may only be effective in certain cases, and even then provide scant evidnce. Other sources are less charitable, flatly stating that MCTs have no athletic benefits, although they may show other therapeutic benefits.

In the podcast, Nancy is in an upbeat mood, typical for a Wednesday during these last two months. Later, as we worked out, the owner of Outback Gym offered to sponsor her entry fees in the contest. We discuss her good fortune as the podcast closes. And, it is good fortune. Female bodybuilding is a dying sport. Most sponsorships are going to more “feminine” aesthetic sports such as figure competitions.