A few months back I was over at the MuscleMag offices in Mississauga, Ontario and I ran into the publishing legend himself Bob Kennedy.  Of course it was exciting because Bob Kennedy’s been publishing health and fitness magazines for over 25 years.  In fact one of my biggest thrills in my bodybuilding career occurred when I was written up in Canadian Corner nearly 10 years ago at which time my picture appeared as the overall winner of my provincial championships.

I will always be grateful for Bob’s coverage of the sport that has given so much to me and for helping me realize one of my first big dreams of having my picture grace the pages of his magazines.

Amazingly enough, nearly ten years later I am face to face with the man that has been around the best of the best in bodybuilding.

Bob a tall soft-spoken man appeared older than the smiling picture I see in the editorial section of his new magazine REPS. He told me that he has started REPS as a way to bring bodybuilding back towards the Golden Age Physiques of the 60’s and 70’s when health and the ideal physique were achievable without the massive levels of drugs taken by today’s bodybuilders.

This of course was the age often referred to as the Golden Age of Bodybuilding.  Legends like Arnold, Frank Zane, Franco Columbu, Robby Robinson and all the gang could be seen sunning themselves on Venice Beach or putting in ferocious workouts in at Joe Gold’s gym in Venice.

I listened intently as Bob still as enthusiastic about pumping iron as he was back then recall a conversation he had the night before with the Legendary Frank Zane.

Bob laughed heartily as he recounted how Frank was on the phone for hours talking about bodybuilding, how it’s been and where it’s going.  I thought to myself “Gee, imagine Frank Zane calling you up to talk shop for hours.  Most guys would kill just to talk shop with Frank for 10 minutes and here Frank is calling Bob to talk Bodybuilding for hours for FREE.

Well one thing led to another and before you know it Bob was sharing me about insights that Frank had made about Arnold and the rumor that Arnold was told by his doctors that he could not train anymore because of his heart troubles.

Well I am not in a position to comment whether the report was true or not Frank did relay some first hand experiences with Arnold back when they used to hang out on Muscle Beach in the 70’s.

Frank told Bob that Arnold was a big eater, and ate all sorts of crappy food in the off-season.  Of course when dieting he was laser focused as only Arnold can be but Frank was clear that Arnold would love to scarf down tons of fried foods, and sweets.  Other bodybuilders would try to follow Arnold’s plan and just wind up fat, out of shape, and most of all confused.

Arnold was blessed with a fast metabolism and he was also known for incredible levels of stamina.  He would routinely train 4 hours plus per day could get away with the junk food back then as he was young, and it apparently had little or no effect on his physique.

Even after his bodybuilding career ended, Arnold continued his hard living lifestyle as movie star, entrepreneur and now Governor of California.  While no one would consider contesting Arnold’s achievements, as he is an inspiration to every bodybuilder who ever picked up a barbell, Arnold’s once famous body has degenerated perhaps more than it should for someone of his age and physical capacities.

The question is of course why?  How could something like this happen to the Greatest Bodybuilder of All-Time?

Part II Enzymes, Metabolic Damage -The Effects Of A Poor Diet

Frank believes that Arnold’s disregard for clean eating had a deleterious effect on his metabolism.  He stated to Bob Kennedy that he felt all the junk food, had some how compromised Arnold’s tremendous physical capacities.  Eventually, Arnold’s body started showing the signs of wear and tear.  His genetic heart condition needed surgery, which forced Arnold to cut back on his training intensity and focus more on cardio vascular training.

It seems life has dealt the Champion perhaps the cruelest hand of them all by not allowing the 7-time Mr. Olympia from training at all, even though he is still a relatively young man at 60 years old.

Frank also confessed to Bob that he found it harder and harder to get in top shape each year as his body just didn’t respond to training the way it used to 10, 20 or even 30 years ago.  Although Frank is a bit older than Arnold he still maintains great conditioning for a man at any age, and has always been known to keep a careful eye on everything he eats.

Bob asked me what I thought of the two cases and I quickly pointed out that both Arnold and Frank were suffering from the same problem, just at different intensity levels.  Bob quickly agreed and added, yeah it’s called the “AGING PROCESS”.  Which of course garnered a round of laughs of all those present as most of the individuals around during the conversation could relate.

I chuckled as well but quickly added… “Well, I believe what your saying is true Bob but have you ever considered what causes Aging?”

Bob looked at me with a little more intensity then before and asked, “Just what exactly did I mean.”

Sensing that this was my moment, I quickly gave the low down as fast and concise as I could about the research performed by Enzyme Pioneer Dr. Howell and how he had discovered that the rate of aging was directly proportional to the total Enzyme potential of any organism.

Part III What Are Digestive Enzymes?

You see enzymes are regularly found in food, whether its fruits, vegetables, even meat that occurs naturally in Nature.  Digestive enzymes are required for the breakdown and digestion of food and fall into 4 main digestive enzymes and a whole pile of other enzymes and enzyme precursors.  Sucrase and lactase are a couple of familiar ones you may be familiar, mostly because some is unable to digest certain foods because of a lack of that enzyme.

Protease – which digests protein
Amylase – which digests carbohydrates
Lipase – which digests fats
Cellulase –which digests cellulose in vegetables (that’s the fiber)

There are also many other enzymes such as.

Sucrase – which digests sugar (Sucrose)
Lactase – which digests Lactose (the sugar in milk)

And the list goes on with other enzymes enzyme precursors etc.

Research has shown that any food that is heated above 118 degrees loses all of its enzymes.  In other words all cooked food is deficient in digestive enzymes.

Processed foods, irradiated foods, foods grown with pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or on mineral deficient soils all have minute levels of enzymes that occur naturally.

Our bodies are actually designed to recognize the taste of enzyme and nutrient dense foods by seeking foods that break down easily, and taste sweet.  Anyone who has eaten a vegetable or fruit at an organic garden or farm will quickly attest to how different organically grown enzyme rich foods taste.

You see nature designed our food to break down itself in our digestive tract, however modern man has gone against Nature’s natural ways and started eating food that is deficient in enzymes.

Humans are the only species on the planet that cooks their food.  Humans are also the only species on the planet that puts chemicals on the ground to grow food, or sprays pesticides on the food, and we are the only species that processes food with chemicals, additives, artificial sweeteners, artificial preservatives, or worse create genetically modified foods.

The bottom line is Humans are going against over 4 Billion Years of evolution.  Now that is serious.

Now what does this have to with Arnold you might say?  And more importantly what does that have to do with you.

Everything…

Part IV Bob Kennedy Gets Interested In Enzymes

As I went on about enzymes, and the effects of enzyme deficient diets Bob asked, “Wade, don’t you get your enzymes from fruits like pineapples and papayas.”

“Great point Bob, and for many years that was true but most of these foods have been irradiated or grown with chemicals which wipes out most of the enzymes naturally occurring in the fruits.”

“Second problem is even if someone ate a great amount of the foods especially bodybuilders they would still have to digest all that protein they consumed.  Now bodybuilders tend to stay away from fruits in the first place as they are worried about holding water but it’s been my experience that enzyme deficient foods in general are causing the problems not the fruits.”

I could tell that Bob was getting more interested so I went on.

Most bodybuilders eat massive amounts of protein that has been cooked, chemically laden, or worse, dead proteins that were processed at a plant and hawked as a nutritional breakthrough.  The bloated bellies floating around in bodybuilding stages today are indicative of massive amounts of undigested protein sitting in the bellies of amateurs and pros alike.

Not only does it look bad, this undigested protein is feed for bad bacteria that create all kinds of toxins that leak into the blood stream

Over time these toxins pollute the liver, the kidneys, and the hearts of even the hardest working athletes because the body has to use it’s own enzyme reserves to digest the food.  When that happens the body has to compromise the growth, repair of use of the various systems and related organs in the body.  Now at first you may not notice it because the body has enough enzyme reserves to “write metabolic checks” however over time the body begins to drain it’s enzyme resources and an enzyme debt begins to happen.

The body then starts to break down muscle tissue and skin in order to make enough enzymes to cover the cost.  Repair of tissues, recovery, and energy levels start to drop.  Sex drive, memory function, and elimination slow down and a person starts to become slower, and gains fat easier.

Part V Enzyme Depletion And The Aging Athlete

Dr. Howell pointed out that by age 27 most of the protease functioning in the body has pretty much shut down as the body recognizes it cannot keep up to the metabolic pace set by even the most dedicated athlete.  Interestingly, if you examine the careers of most superstar athletes they tend to peak around 26-28 and then start to decline.

Injuries, fatigue and a loss of speed or quickness creeps in and the athlete’s career begin to decline.  Interestingly enough Arnold retired at the age of 28 because he felt it was getting to tough to stay ahead of the competition.  Of course he did make a comeback 5 years later where he fought of severe injuries.  He also was about 20 pounds lighter than his best weight, and from all accounts he did not deserve to win the show.

Arnold being Arnold of course found a way as he was probably the smartest and craftiest competitors all of all-time.  Even though his body could deliver what it could earlier, Arnold found a way.

Arnold’s will and drive, which was his greatest strength pushed him through the competition but it may be a contributing factor as to why he is experiencing health challenges today.

You see Arnold’s lifestyle, diet, and energy expenditure required huge amounts of enzymes to be spent in order to keep pace.  Since Arnold would not accept anything less but greatness from himself he managed to always will himself past pain.  He even comments about this in his writing as to how he brings himself past the pain barrier, he disregards the body’s pain signals, and just gets the job done.

Almost every great athlete in the world applies the same principle to there training and to life and almost all do extreme damage to themselves from the years of athletic pursuit because the body needs enzymes to repair the damage from training, injuries, and lifestyle yet very few athletes consider how enzymes could be the missing link to extending ones’ career or achieving a greater physical potential.

Part VI Are Enzymes The Answer to Treat Genetic Diseases and other Modern Day Killers?

A crowd of Bob’s employees had gathered around me by this time.  One of them asked, “Do you think that enzyme deficiency is causing the health problems in today’s bodybuilders and left unchecked could contribute to disease like heart problems, diabetes and cancer?”

Well I said I am not a medical professional, but professionals such as Dr. Michael O’Brien, Dr. Pottenger, Dr. Wong, and Dr. Howell all seem to think so.  I certainly believe that every person in the world an most definitely every athlete would benefit from reading Dr. Howell’s book Enzyme Nutrition and look at the mountain of evidence suggesting enzyme deficient diets are a potential contributing factor.

Bob then asked “where I got my research and who these doctors were.  I gave him my sources and he then quickly excused himself and disappeared into his office.  I was bombarded by questions by the inquisitive staff and spent the next couple of hours explaining the deeper aspects of nutrient deficient diets, their effects and how one might combat them.

I eventually left the MuscleMag offices reflecting on the current state of bodybuilding, with the overblown bodybuilders due to drug abuse and the recent rash of sociological, psychological, and physiological problems facing the bodybuilder industry.  I remembered how Dr. Pottenger pointed out in his numerous animal studies that every species fed an enzyme deficient diet developed all of the same symptoms that plague society today.

Bodybuilders being on the Extreme end of pushing the limits and requirements for enzymes seem to be the hardest hit although the mainstream population isn’t far behind.  Considering the widespread rise of genetic diseases, and conditions such as Diabetes, Heart Disease, and Cancer could these conditions be reversed if someone took massive dosages of digestive enzymes?

Dr. Howell, and Dr. O’Brien have both used massive dosages of Enzymes to successfully treat a host of genetic conditions as well almost hopeless cases of advanced illness.  Dr. O’Brien’s most famous patient was none other than Dr. Bernard Jensen who after being written off with an incurable state of Prostate cancer made a complete recovery in just 8 weeks and 1 day after being subjected to a massive dosage of enzyme protocol under the supervision of Dr. O’Brien.

During this time Dr. Jensen went from a weight of 78 pounds to a bodyweight of 145 in just 8 weeks and made a full and miraculous recovery.  The documented and story is illustrated in Bernard Jensen’s book “Come Alive”.  In chapter 13 of the book, Dr. Jensen recounts the story with full pictures of his remarkable recovery.

If a full recovery can be made from and advanced state of disease by one person using enzymes it would seem that there may be a case for enzyme deficiency being a contributing factor in the prevention of disease.

Part VI Enzymes And High Performance Athletes

The next question is Can High Performance Athletes benefit from Mega Dosages of digestive enzymes to enhance metabolism, nutrient absorption, recovery, muscle mass and most of all improved performance?

I believe that Athletes can benefit from high dosages and there is reason to believe that Enzymes just might be the next wave of performance enhancers.  Considering the rash of injuries in professional sports, the increasing demands of training, as well as the tighter regulations around drug testing it seems that Enzymes just might be the answer the pro sports current challenges.

Recently I worked with a team of scientists from the top enzyme manufacturing company in the world to develop and enzyme product that would address the needs of athletes who required increases in muscle mass, strength, power, and speed.

We focused on developing an enzyme that emphasized the various proteases too improve protein digestion and absorption since the primary focus of hard training athletes is to recover, repair, and grow new muscle and that requires protein.  Most injuries are the body’s way of telling the athlete that they are over trained due to lack of recovery.  Protein absorption is of prime concern for power, strength, and even endurance athletes.

The second part of the equation was the proper metabolism of carbohydrates, which required a solid portion of amylase then enzyme required for digesting carbohydrates.

The third part required lipase and enzyme that enables a person to digest and absorb fats, which are required for the production of various hormones and for the optimum functioning of the nervous system.

These enzymes were then combined with the precise amount of enzyme precursors, stabilizers, and other critical enzymes to maximize the effectiveness and potency of the formulation.  The result was the first every high performance enzyme product called Masszymes.

Although only a tiny batch was produced and given to a small group of elite athletes including myself, the results were shocking to say the least.  Individuals reported not only gains in lean body mass, but incredibly fast recovery rates, improved endurance, loss of body fat, and a greater ability to stick with calorie-reduced diets.

What’s even more remarkable is the test athletes also reported an improved sense of wellbeing, lack of sugar cravings, improved skin conditions, and even improved cognitive abilities.

While the research is still ongoing, more athletes will be required to take part in testing the product until full-blown clinical trials can be commissioned.  The early results are demonstrating that a high quality enzyme formulation such as MassZymes can improve athletic performance.

Part VII The Final Conclusion

It’s been six months since I had the conversation with Bob Kennedy and I was walking through the magazine section in my local Chapters bookstore.  I glanced over the magazine section and had a look at the latest MuscleMag.  As I flipped through the pages of advertisements, training articles, and pictures of huge and ripped physiques gracing the pages of the April edition, I stumbled upon an interesting article on Page 184.

Yep you guessed it…  The article was on Enzymes.

While I don’t know if Bob relayed the information to Frank Zane or to Arnold about the importance of supplementing ones diet with enzymes I can say it seems that he thought it important enough to include and article on Enzymes in his magazine.

One thing for sure Bob Kennedy knows a trend when he sees one and I think he believes that Enzymes are indeed the next big trend in bodybuilding and in sport itself.  Whatever the case, Arnold if you listening… I got a few bottles of MassZymes with your name on it.  Justclick here.

Wade T. Lightheart
http://www.wadelightheart.com
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Wade T. Lightheart is a Natural National Bodybuilding Champion and author of “Vital Power” A Dynamic Philosophy for Producing Optimum Health & Vitality Without Diets, Drugs, or Doctors.  Wade is the Director of Human Performance at Yaletown Holistics where he helps people achieve Optimum Health as well a formulating high performance training routines, mental technologies and cutting edge supplements to improve the performance of natural athletes around the world.  You can contact Wade by clicking here.