Back in August, I wrote an article on stuff I like, which listed things like supplements, people, services, and more. I got a lot of “thank you for sharing” emails, which helped a lot of people with a few things, as well.

Today, I’ll write a few more things that I like, which will hopefully help you.

Lululemon ABC Pants

When it comes to fashion, I’m pretty unfashionable. I’m from the school of thought that as long as there’s no holes in my clothes, they’re clean, and don’t smell, I’m good. If I have a choice between buying a brand name, at a higher price, vs. an equally-good no-name at a lower price, I would always go for the no-name. Why? For two reasons:

  1. I’m cheap

  2. I feel that it’s backwards for me to pay higher prices for brand names. By wearing their clothes, I’m advertising them. So they should be paying me, instead. I gain no sense of satisfaction or pleasure from the “status” of wearing a brand name.

But I digress.

Eventually, last year, the gym I’m affiliated with, Advantage 4 Athletes worked out a partnership with Lululemon. And while I had heard of Lululemon before, I never really looked at their clothes, and thought that pretty much all they do is sell yoga pants for women.

Then, I got my hands on their ABC pants. And wow, my view of Lululemon changed. The ABC pants look like dress pants, but feel like track pants. They’re so comfortable, yet they are stretchy too. I feel like I can break out into a full sprint, throw kicks, and do the splits in those pants. All things that I can’t do in dress pants, or jeans.

And I have no financial affiliation with Lululemon, so whether you buy anything from them or not, I don’t make a penny. They just make really good pants.

Original source: here.

Vega All-In-One Shake

I used to poo-poo a lot of the plant-based nutrition shakes. I didn’t like them for a few reasons:

  1. They taste bad

  2. The texture is very grainy. It’s like drinking sand or chalk. It doesn’t blend well. Whey blends very well, and it gives your drink a smooth, creamy texture.

  3. The amino acid profile is sub-optimal. By this, I mean that protein is made up of 20 different amino acids. And different proteins (whey, casein, pea, rice, etc.) have different amino acid profiles/ratios. Whey, in particular which has a very long history of being great for both muscle building, but also the immune system, and the liver has a great profile due to its high concentration of the branched-chain amino acids (BCAA). These are leucine, isoleucine, and valine. Plant-based proteins have different amino acid profiles. So even though the total quantity is the same, the ratios of the different amino acids relative to each other are less-than optimal.

The Vega all-in-one shake solved all 3 problems.

  1. Although I’ve only tasted the chocolate and mocha flavor (there are others), they taste great.

  2. It blends well. I’ve never tried a plant-based meal replacement shake that isn’t grainy… until I tried Vega. Just like whey, it’s smooth and creamy in texture.

  3. They add in some free-form leucine to give the protein part of their drink more of a whey-like amino acid profile.

Is it superior to whey? Not in my opinion. But it’s not inferior, either. It’s now, just a different option. Whereas most plant-based products are indeed inferior to whey (other than the fact that they tend to be more hypoallergenic).

Oh yeah, and since it’s not a protein powder, but a true meal replacement shake, it has more than just protein. It has fibre, vitamins and minerals, and more.

So yes, I personally use Vega, in addition to other meal replacements. And once again, no, I don’t have any financial affiliation with Vega.

Original source: here.

Genestra HMB Complex

I’ve heard about HMB (which stands for “hydroxymethylbutyrate”. Yes, that’s one word. Feels like it should be 3 different words, doesn’t it?) for a couple of years, but never really looked into it, or thought much about it.

Then, my friend, and strongest woman in Ontario in the 63 kg weight class, Maria Taccone mentioned that she started using HMB, and recovered faster from her workouts.

So, being a skeptic, I had to look at what the science had to say. So I jumped on over to Examine.com (the biggest, unbiased site on the internet that gives the scientific literature on different nutritional supplements) to look whether there’s any good research on it, or whether it’s all hype, and only proven in small studies done on rats/mice, or in petri dishes.

To my surprise, I found some impressive evidence (again, in humans, and not rats/mice/petri dishes) that indeed, HMB reduces muscle damage following a workout. And not just evidence in some poor, little-known, poor-methodology journals. But in reputable journals, like the British Journal of Nutrition, the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, and Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

That was great.

So it had both the scientific proof, and practical, real-world results, as we saw with Maria.

I decided to try it on myself, and bought a bottle of the HMB complex, from Genestra. What did I notice? Same as Maria – faster recovery between workouts.

I typically do 4 strength training workouts per week (and 2 cardio workouts). My Friday and Saturday workouts are back to back (obviously). So I’ll typically have a great workout on Fridays, but the intensity on my Saturday workouts drops a noticeable amount due to some residual fatigue from Friday. Once I started using the HMB complex, the quality of my Saturday workouts improved substantially, to the point where now, I only see a tiny drop in intensity, compared to before.

But a word of warning: HMB smells great (like lemon), but tastes awful. The first time I drank it, I mixed it in water, and it was not a pleasant experience. Lesson learned. The second time, I put it in lemonade, and couldn’t feel the taste.

Once again, I have no affiliation with Genestra, so whether you buy it or not, I don’t get any commissions.

Original source: here.

Trigenics

I’ve mentioned Trigenics in a few articles before, so I most definitely like it! What is it? Trigenics is a neurological system that resets the way the brain communicates with the body, to instantaneously increase strength and movement, and decrease pain.

You know how sometimes you have an injury, and you’ve been going to different practitioners… chiropractors, physiotherapists, massage therapists, etc., and it never seems to heal? Or at least, not completely? It could be that the missing part is your neurology. You can break up scar tissue all you want, but if you have a “miscommunication” between the muscular system and the nervous system, your issue won’t improve (not 100%, anyway). The neurology must be addressed as well.

This one, I most definitely have a financial interest in, because I practice it myself. Having originally learned about it back in 2011, I’ve taken 7 seminars in Trigenics (which, all combined cost nearly $10K) since then to be able to help my clients deal with long-standing injuries/issues.

The cool part is that there’s a 50-80% improvement after the first session, and that improvement is long-lasting. And typically you don’t need very many sessions for more or less complete resolution (typically, 6-8).

The founder of Trigenics, Dr. Allan Austin even has even developed a series of operations called “non-surgical operations.” Basically, he treats conditions that typically require surgery. But without surgery. He does it in 2 treatments, and he guarantees results. Things like carpal tunnel, sciatica, patellofemoral syndrome, and his biggest claim to fame: frozen shoulder. What practitioner guarantees results??? He does. And that’s also why he has patients flying in from all over the world for treatment. Whereas most chiropractors only get patients from within 5ish km of their clinic.

Original source: here.

Whole Foods Market

A lot of people have heard me say “I hate to cook, but I like to eat.” And just because I’m a “health nut” doesn’t mean that I like bland food, that tastes like cardboard, either. I like food to be BOTH healthy and tasty. Not just healthy. I don’t want to sacrifice taste for health. I want both.

That’s where Whole Foods Market comes in. I buy their food. It’s ready-made, fresh, right in the store. The ingredients are fully disclosed, and it fits the “Igor-approved” bill: it’s BOTH healthy and tasty.

I often joke with the cashiers at Whole Foods: “it’s a nice, home cooked meal. That I didn’t cook :)”

Yeah, I often hear people complain that Whole Foods market is expensive, but you’re paying for food one way or another. Either with your time, or with your money. I can either buy the raw ingredients and spend the time to make it myself. That will be cheaper. Or, I can buy everything already made, and save some time. That will cost more. And I can make another dollar, but I can’t make another minute. So I’ll pay money to save time. And for good taste.

Original source: here.