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NOTE: All articles in BetterU News are written by Nick Nilsson -
http://www.fitstep.com/ unless otherwise credited.

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Bodybuilding Revealed By Will Brink If you don't already have this book, now's a great time to grab it! Here's what it' all about: Everything you could need to know about diet, training and motivation, not to mention over 50 independent fully researched bodybuilding supplement reviews. Access to Will's Private Members Forum with over 300 brand name supplements, in-depth responses to your questions on everything to do with Bodybuilding from me and my paid trained advisors. The Online Diet Planner. Far better than the ones you see for $9.99 a month, it allows you to even plot your lean body mass and fat loss with graphs, create meals and recipes, monitor all your food, it's the ultimate tool for keeping your diet on track and keeping full records of everything your eating. Pre-Made Diets - Just download any of our dozens of pre-made diets, all include pre and post workout nutrition Online exercise database, nutrition database, online video database, extensive guru articles section, online supplement resellers ratings, and much more. For the sheer volume of bodybuilding information you get with this package, it's a steal and well worth every penny. Check it out now! http://www.fitstep.com/goto/muscle-building-nutrition.htm

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Secret Training Tip #665 - The CURE For Stubborn Shoulders...The Two-Phase Barbell Shoulder Press If you've got stubborn shoulders, this simple but extremely powerful technique is EXACTLY what you need. Standard dumbell and barbell pressing don't work the WHOLE range of motion equally - you're leaving results on the table if you're just doing regular shoulder presses!

If you've ever had a hard time developing your shoulders, this exercise is going to be a lifesaver for you! Personally, shoulders are one of my WORST bodyparts. It's tough to keep them strong...tough to get them bigger...and tough to really feel them working when I'm actually doing shoulder exercises!

But the first time I used this technique, it absolutely blew my mind. As soon as I finished the set, my shoulders felt like they were inflating! The blood was came rushing in and I knew I was on to something special...that RARELY happens to me with ANY shoulder exercises.

So what makes THIS exercise so special? You're going to reach muscular failure TWICE within the same set. AND you're going to do it with NO REST in between the two phases of the exercise. BAM BAM...one part right into the next.

But here's the twist...it's not a typical drop set in which you reduce the weight to achieve this! You're going to use the SAME weight for both phases of the exercise.

The REAL key lies in the range of motion of each part of the exercise...

You see, when you do a normal barbell shoulder press, as you push the barbell up, you go through what is called a strength curve. In basic terms, it means at the bottom of the movement you are fairly strong. But as you press further (normally about 3 to 5 inches up in the movement) you hit a point where the leverage in your shoulders changes. The exercise gets a lot tougher.

This is called a sticking point - it's basically the weakest point in the exercise. Another example of a sticking point is commonly seen in the bench press. If you were doing a bench press using a heavy weight, lowered the weight to your chest then started to press but couldn't get past a certain point (a few inches above your chest), THAT is also a sticking point.

Bottom line, you can only lift as much weight as you can move through that WEAKEST point in the range of motion of an exercise. But OUTSIDE that sticking point, your muscles are stronger and can lift more weight!

The question becomes, how do we still do full range-of-motion lifting while putting greater tension on the muscles to maximize their strength in OTHER phases of the movement?

We're going to break the movement into two distinct phases. On the first phase, you're going to do FULL reps of the shoulder press. When you can't do any more full reps, you're going to do partial reps in ONLY the top, stronger half of the range of motion.

It's a powerful technique and it'll get your shoulders burning like crazy!

The key to geting the most out of this exercise is the setup...

How to Do It:

First, you'll be doing this exercise in the power rack. While there IS a way to do it without being the rack (and it is still effective that way), the rack is going to allow you to really push your shoulders to the maximum.

Set the safety rails in the rack to just below shoulder height. You're going to be doing a standing military barbell press for your shoulders, bringing to the front, of course! I NEVER recommend doing any behind-the-head shoulder pressing - it can cause shoulder damage.

For this exercise, start with a weight you can get at least 8 to 10 reps for. I would suggest doing 3 or 4 sets of this exercise in total for your shoulder workout.

Grip the bar with your pinkies or fourth fingers on the smooth rings of the Olympic bar. You need to take a narrower grip on the bar than with the bench press. The rails should be set so you have to bend your knees a bit to get under the bar. The bar should be held across your extreme upper chest.

Next, begin the pressing movement. Press the barbell up in front of your face then lockout at the top. When you do a military press, your knees should be slightly bent and abs tight to keep stress off the lower back.

Because of the path of the bar, you will be leaning back a little bit - it has to go in front of your face. But as soon as the bar clears your head, shift your torso forward so that the bar is DIRECTLY over your head. It almost resembles a bobbing-forward motion. This is a key point that a lot of people miss with the shoulder press. If you keep leaning back, it keep tension on the front delts and takes it off the rear delts.

Lower the weight slowly back to your chest then press again. Keep going until you can't get the weight past the sticking point. Try and get it past the sticking point, though! We want to be sure you're right at the limit.

When you're done, set the bar back on the safety rails. And here's the trick that's going to set your shoulders on fire...keeping your hands locked onto the bar, drop down onto your knees under the bar. Now keep pressing in the partial top range of motion of the press!

Because the bar is now ABOVE the sticking point, your shoulders have better leverage and can continue with the exercise! Do as many reps as you can until you can't even budge the bar. I prefer to set the weight down on the rails in between reps here but you can keep a continuous movement, if you want. Do it whichever way feels best to you.

By exploiting the top range of motion after fatiguing the muscles in the full range of motion, you're going to finally be working the shoulders with FULL resistance in the whole range of motion.

When you're done, stand up. Your shoulders will be swelling up any second now!

As I mentioned previously, there IS a way to perform this technique without a power rack.

First, perform the barbell shoulder press, just like above. Now, instead of doing reps until you can't get past the sticking point, you're going to have to stop a rep or two SHORT of that point of failure.

Basically, you're going to have to complete that last rep to the TOP. When you're at the top, now lower the bar only halfway down (just above where your sticking point normally is) then press it back up to the top.

Keep doing reps in this shortened range of motion until you can't hold the bar up anymore!

Conclusion:

Give this exercise a try in your next shoulder workout. If you've got good shoulders, this will blow them up even more. If you've got poor shoulders, you're going to be in for a treat!

To view pictures and videos of this technique in action, please click on the following link:

http://www.fitstep.com/Misc/Newsletter-archives/issue51-2phase.htm

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FDA Threatens Your Freedom - An IMPORTANT Guest Article from Jon Benson Please share this with everyone you know who uses supplements or even just vitamins!! The FDA is moving towards regulating ALL dietary supplements and vitamins in a manner that would mean that you could NO LONGER BUY ANY SUPPLEMENTS without a doctor's prescription. Not even Vitamin C! Read this now!

You have FIVE days of freedom left.

Potentially, that is, if the FDA and Big Pharma has their way.
The latest move by the FDA is designed to once and for all destroy the 1994 DSHEA law that has made supplements "legal" while eliminating nutritional supplements and natural medicine from the United States, ensuring monopoly profits and control by drug companies and the FDA.
It is the latest action item by the FDA / Big Pharma conspiracy that will not stop until health freedom has been abolished, drug companies rule the nation, and every citizen is diagnosed with a fictitious disease and drugged up on monopoly-priced pharmaceuticals.

This all comes to a head in five days - April 30th, 2007.

I bet most of you haven't even heard about it. That is not by coincidence. It's even hard to find articles on the web about this. The lawmakers have been very clever slipping this under the cracks.

What Does This Mean To You?
If you ever want to have the freedom to purchase Vitamin C for your immune system's health, or perhaps Cherry Extract for your joint health…or literally if you take any supplement at all, even vegetable juice, click on the link below. Let these ridiculous lawmakers hear your voice...

Click this link now to protect your rights!

http://tinyurl.com/2u7ghc

Unless you want FDA "experts" to decide what's a drug or medical device, click that link and let your voice be heard. Remember, these are the same "experts" who re-approved Vioxx, even after the crap killed over 50,000 people in the U.S. alone. This is not hype. This is not histrionics. This is a real as it gets.

Only "doctors" would be able to "prescribe" most supplements deeded C.A.M. (Complimentary and Alternative Medicine). We're talking multivitamins, herbal supplements, homeopathic modalities…even massage oils. No joke.
Don't Believe Me? Take A Look...
This was lifted right from the FDA's published PDF document on Docket No. 2006D-0480. You can read the entire PDF for yourself by clicking the link below.

http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/06d-0480-gld0001.pdf

Below you will find highlights of the FDA's proposed legislation. This includes the substances that will be legislated by the FDA and Big Pharma under the proposed guidelines. (Special thanks to Mike Adams and NewsTarget.com for providing these excerpts...)

"...a product used in a CAM therapy or practice may be subject to regulation as a biological product, cosmetic, drug, device, or food (including food additives and dietary supplements) under the act or the PHS Act. Second, neither the act nor the PHS Act exempts CAM products from regulation."

Translation: Anything used in any system of medicine may now be regulated as a drug or medical device by the FDA. This includes a biofeedback machine, acupuncture needles, a cup of herbal tea, massage oil, a glass of vegetable juice or even a bottle of water.

"...if a person decides to produce and sell raw vegetable juice for use in juice therapy to promote optimal health… [and] if the juice therapy is intended for use as part of a disease treatment regimen instead of for the general wellness, the vegetable juice would also be subject to regulation as a drug under the Act."

Translation: Raw vegetable juice will be regulated as a drug and must be FDA approved as a drug if it has any health effect whatsoever. Handing a cup of raw vegetable juice to someone and telling them it's good for the detoxification of their liver will get you arrested for practicing medicine without a license and promoting an "unapproved drug."

"...biologically based practices" includes, but is not limited to, botanicals, animal-derived extracts, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids, proteins, prebiotics and probiotics: whole diets, and "functional foods". ...a botanical product intended for use in treating a disease would generally be regulated as a drug." ..."functional foods" may be subject to FDA regulation as foods, dietary supplements, or drugs under the Act."

Translation: All foods, supplements, superfoods and functional foods may be reclassified as drugs by the FDA, then regulated off the market.

"If the manipulative and body-based practices involve the use of equipment (such as massage devices) or the application of a product (such as a lotion, cream, or oil) to the skin or other parts of the body, those products may be subject to regulation under the Act."

Translation: Massage oils and creams will be regulated as "drugs" and acupuncture needles as "medical devices." Taking this absurdity one step further, massage therapists who use their fingers to touch patients may have their fingers regulated as "medical devices" and be accused of practicing medicine for merely touching patients.

Don't Just Sit There...Protest!
Here is the website you need to visit today. It takes less than a minute to file your complaint. Let your voice be heard!

Click this link now to protect your rights!

http://tinyurl.com/2u7ghc

Additional phone numbers as listed in the FDA document include…
Sheryl Lard-Whiteford at 301-827-0379
Daniel Nguyen at 301-827-8971
Ted Stevens at 301-594-1184
Wayne Amchin at 301-827-6739

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Editors Note:

You can read John's original post and post comments of your own here:

http://www.jonbenson.com/fda_threatens_your_freedom.php

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8 Week Cardio Interval Training Blast! Get Increased Fat Loss AND Take Your Cardio Fitness To A Whole New Level This detailed cardio program will take you from an interval- training beginner to interval-training pro in only 8 weeks! This step-by-step progression guides you through the most effective types of intervals to maximize your results.

Interval training is one of THE most effective ways to burn fat while preserving muscle. When using cardio training for fat loss, I recommend it almost exclusively in my programs! This nice thing is, interval training is also one of THE most effective ways to improve your overall cardiovascular capacity as well.

There is a LOT of good information available on what intervals are and how to perform them. But what often seems to be missing is a detailed plan that helps you progress from Point A (just starting out with interval training) to Point B (performing the more challenging interval training techniques).

The trick is knowing where to start and how to progress from there. You can't just jump in and start sprinting up hills without knowing what you're doing and building yourself up to it. That's a good way to not only hurt yourself but exhaust yourself as well!

So in response to this, I've designed an interval training progression plan that gets you started with the more introductory-level types of interval training then gradually moves you into the more intense and challenging interval training techniques.

I'll lay out how many intervals to do, which style of interval training to do and how long to do it for. This progression plan will also give you good variety in your cardio training, which I'm sure you know can get VERY dull if you keep doing it the same way over and over.

You see, just like with weight training, you need to constantly challenge and even shock your body in order to continue making progress. Otherwise, your body simply has no reason to adapt and get better. This plan will do it for you!

The overall goals with this cardio program are fat loss and improving cardiovascular capacity. This type of training is NOT a plan I would recommend if you're trying to build muscle. When training to build muscle, you want to keep cardio training down to a lower maintenance level (once or twice a week at most) and this is not a program that does that.

The program is based on doing cardio training 3 times per week and can be applied to basically any method or apparatus of cardio training, be it running, cycling, elliptical machine, stair machine, etc. Any cardio based sports activity will work as well (e.g. swimming, rollerblading).

Choose whatever cardio activity works best for you, that you enjoy the most or that you'd most like to improve your performance in, e.g. if you're a runner, using running as the activity for your interval training.

You can certainly utilize different cardio activities as you go through the program, e.g. use treadmill running one day then the elliptical machine the next. The real key lies in the intensity with which you do the activities!

Before you start in on the program, I would encourage you to read through the following two articles. They'll help you understand what interval training is all about and introduce you to the different types of interval training.

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What Do You Mean Low-Intensity Training Isn't The Best For Fat Burning?
http://www.fitstep.com/Misc/Newsletter-archives/issue7.htm

The Insider Secrets of Interval Training - Learn How Now!
http://www.fitstep.com/Misc/Newsletter-archives/issue26.htm

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Now it's time to have a look at the program!

The following link will take you to a page from the Trial Membership area of my site "Powerful Training Secrets."

You DO NOT have to sign up for anything to get the interval progression program, but if you haven't yet signed up for your trial membership, I'd definitely encourage you to do so!

I regularly post exciting new training information in the Trial site...and I post a whole lot more in the full membership site itself!

http://www.powerfultrainingsecrets.com/trial-membership/16-8-week-cardio-program.htm

When you get to the page, scroll down towards the bottom. That's where you'll find the full, step-by-step program for getting yourself from interval training beginner to interval training pro in only 8 weeks!

The program starts with a technique known as Aerobic Interval Training - basically, a way to begin learning how to increase training intensity without burning yourself out. Over the next two weeks, your intensity will gradually be increased within the context of Aerobic Intervals.

As you continue through the program, you'll notice how the intervals are continually getting just a bit more challenging - rest times are changing as are work times.

By the time you get to the final few weeks of the program, you'll be in great shape and ready for anything!

If, at any time in the program you feel you need to take a bit more time to adapt to it, feel free to perform another week of the same type of interval training you just did. This program isn't written in stone and you DO need to listen to your body.

So check out the program and if you have any questions about it as you're reading or as you're doing it, please feel free to drop me an email at betteru@fitstep.com!

Here's the link to the interval training program page once again:

http://www.powerfultrainingsecrets.com/trial-membership/16-8-week-cardio-program.htm

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INTERVAL EQUIPMENT NOTE:

If you need a good timer for your intervals, check out the GymBoss timer. I've been using one recently and it really works like a charm. Unlike a lot of other timers, it actually has a vibrate feature that means you don't have to experience loud beeping to know when your time is up (great if you train with headphones on!).

You can set the timer to time different work and rest intervals (e.g. 2 minutes work, 1 minute rest can be programmed in), which is very nice. It's also not too expensive (about 20 US dollars). The timer clips on and is a neat little piece of equipment - very useful for intervals and also for timing your rest periods when weight training.

You can get one here:

http://www.fitstep.com/goto/gymboss.htm

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How To Make Your OWN Bodybuilding & Fat Loss Supplements By Jeff Anderson, "The Muscle Nerd" Bodybuilding supplements are notorious for being overpriced and, quite often, downright ineffective! Let the "Muscle Nerd" be your guide as he explains some of the "tricks of the trade" that supplement companies use to grab your money...and gives you a special insider scoop on how you can get your hands on information for MAKING YOUR OWN supplements at a fraction of the cost!

Are you frustrated with wasting a week's paycheck on the latest and greatest bodybuilding or fat loss supplements without even knowing if they're making ENOUGH of a difference to be worth the gobs of money you just spent?

Are you sick to your stomach of getting sucked into ads of steroid-pumped pro-athletes holding up a bottle of "natural" wonder-supplements claiming that THEIR body was built "naturally"?

Are there supplements that you would LIKE to test out, but can't see selling a "black market kidney" to pay the outrageous price they want to charge?

Well, how would you like to know how you can EASILY and INEXPENSIVELY make your OWN supplements that are AS GOOD AS, or even BETTER than the very same name brands you've been buying?

Here's how to do it…

STEP 1: KNOW WHICH SUPPLEMENTS WORK AND WHICH ONES DON'T

The marketing "tricks" used by unscrupulous supplement companies are numerous.

In some cases, ingredients that are built up as the next "revolutionary" breakthrough have been proven to have NO EFFECT whatsoever in independent testing.

In other cases, the research that a supplement company uses to promote its product, when investigated, actually proved the supplement DIDN'T work at all!

It's all in the wording and manipulation of results. If a group of guys build a 1/2 lb of new muscle over a 1 month time period and another group builds 1.5 lbs of muscle, then guess what?

"Testing PROVES that our supplement can help you gain 300% more muscle every single month!"

Fortunately there are a few websites that can help you with credible independent research.

Two of the best are www.consumerlab.com and www.naturaldatabase.com.

One of these websites costs about $27 for a full year to subscribe to their information database while the other is $10 per month.

Now if spending money on doing the research (which honestly CAN take HOURS to go ingredient-by-ingredient), I'm going to give you some advice where you can bypass the subscription fees.

But more on that later. On to Step 2...

STEP 2: BEWARE OF THE "SUPPLEMENT SPRINKLE"

There are many "tricks of the trade" that supplement manufacturers use to help sell their products...but THIS is by far one of the WORST that people fall prey to.

I call it the "supplement sprinkle" and it works like this...

A supplement may provide an ingredient that credible research has shown to be effective at building muscle, burning fat, raising hormone levels, or whatever.

And this research is plastered all over their ads marketing their supplement that in fact DOES contain this "miracle ingredient".
But what they DON'T tell you is that the research proving its effectiveness used MUCH higher doses than what are included in their actual product formula.

No big whoop for the supplement manufacturer…just by HAVING the ingredient, they have the "right" to claim "Product X contains a compound that showed a 250% increase in growth hormone".

That may be true…but the small "sprinkling" of that ingredient will NOT have the same effect for the user.

Look again at independent research that has shown the ingredient to be effective and see HOW MUCH was used in the actual study that showed it to be effective.

THIS is the amount you want to use in your own personal "formula".

STEP 3: COPY THE "SECRET INGREDIENTS" OF YOUR TARGET SUPPLEMENTS

Just like perfume companies take high-dollar designer brands and "copy" their formula to develop and market a much cheaper alternative, you too can "knock off" the "secret formulas" of supplement manufacturers and make them much cheaper yourself.

Now there ARE some obstacles you're going to face if you try to do this…

First you have the earlier problem of knowing which ingredients that are listed actually WORK…and which ones are WORTHLESS.

Second, you need to know in what QUANTITIES effective supplements must be used so you're not wasting your time with your OWN "sprinkle" problem.

Third, you need to know WHERE to find the ingredients you're going to use at a cost low enough to make it worth your while.
Fourth, you need to know exactly HOW the ingredients listed interact with one another to either boost the effectiveness of each supplement alone…or in some cases even NEGATE the effects of other ingredients (yes…sometimes the ingredients companies use can actually cancel each other out!)

Now, on the front end, this may look like a LOT of work…and it IS if you're doing the research yourself. In fact, it typically takes me about 2 DAYS to fully investigate a product's claims and ingredients and then ANOTHER day to prepare my "attack plan" to formulate my own homemade formula.

But you're in luck because here's how you can completely eliminate the "research and development" learning curve with my special little "shortcut"...

I've decided to take the "fight" to the greedy supplement manufacturers and give the "Average Joe" the ammunition to keep their hard earned money where it belongs...in their own pockets!

So just how much savings are we talking about?

What if I told you that you can EASILY take a "fat burner" supplement that NORMALLY costs up to $99.98…and make it YOURSELF for just $5.00 a month?

Or how about a popular "muscle-builder" that normally costs $79.90...that you can make for just $6.29 a month?

These are just a COUPLE of examples of how you can start "fighting back" against the companies that are sucking money out of our pockets like a Hoover vacuum.

In "Homemade Supplement Secrets", here's what I do...

- Expose all of the scams, cons, tricks, and downright FRAUDS
that plague the supplement industry! There are GOOD companies...
and there are "BAD" companies. I show you how to spot the cons
like an FBI interrogator!

- Show you how you can set up your own "home base lab" with
everyday items and utensils you never expected had an
"alternative" use. No need to break out that chemistry set
your mom and dad bought you back in 3rd grade. EVERYTHING you
need to get started can be found at your local grocery store!

- Provide an "ingredient-by-ingredient" analysis of the "major
supplements" in 8 different supplementation areas to show you
what independent research has to say about its TRUE effectiveness
so you can make your own decision about what is right for YOU.
I take all of the "top sellers" and turn them inside out.
You'll know how REAL science weighed in on some of the
highest priced supplements!

- Break open my own personal "knock off" formulas for 24 (yes,
that's TWENTY-FOUR!) of the top selling supplements available
today! I won't spare a single secret as I spill the beans on
how YOU can whack off as much as 98% on your supplement
bill...starting TOMORROW!

- GIVE you my own "little black book" of the very BEST resources
for quality supplement ingredients that will SHOCK you with
their prices. I've turned over every rock I could find for the
past 2 years in looking for the very best deals available on
supplements. You'll be amazed at some of the deals that are
literally HIDDEN from the average person and tucked away in
the darkest corners you may never even think to look. I found
them...and now their YOURS!

This is just a quick sample of what I'll be revealing in this controversial "how-to" guide!

But here's the catch...

...I'm ONLY going to release 1,000 copies of the program at 12:00 noon (US Central Time) on Wednesday, May 2nd, and the notice is going out to over 500,000 email subscribers!

[Editors note - this offer was sold out within 3 hours but you can still sign up to be notified when the book is re-released!]

Why only 1,000 copies?

Well, even though I've remained as "politically correct" as possible, I've already ticked off quite a few people by stepping on the toes of the "big boys".

I've even been turned down by some major fitness magazines for advertising simply because it would "hurt the feelings" of their major advertisers who are pushing $10,000 per page ads trying to get us to fork over our hard-earned money.

Quite frankly, I have NO IDEA what public reaction is going to be.
I have a feeling that the "regular working guys" who are looking to save a TON on their supplement bill will send me flowers…

But "backroom" supplement manufacturers who are pumping out worthless bottles of crap are going to contact my local Chicago mafia representative to take out a "hit" on me.

Not that I'm really concerned with assassination attempts (I've seen enough Schwarzenegger movies to handle myself!)...but I DO have some friends in the industry (both in the manufacturing AND marketing ends) and I've decided that while I don't care about hurting the feelings of the big box supplement companies, I'm NOT looking to damage the business of friends who ARE putting out some quality supplements.

After the 1,000 initial copies, I'm going to assess whether or not it's worth it to re-release the manual…or shut it down permanently.
I may release it again…I may not…but I can assure you of one thing…

On May 2nd, I'm going to release it at a price so unbelievable, you would be INSANE not to be waiting by your keyboard for my launch notification just so you can grab your copy before they're all gone.

BUT…I'm going to give you a chance RIGHT NOW to sign up for my "Early Bird" Notification List where you can get an extra ONE HOUR headstart on the rest of the world (yes…this program MAY sell out in under 1 hour! If you don't want to take the chance, then I suggest you secure your spot in line right now! No kidding!)

If you're currently using ANY supplements, I urge you to get on my "early bird" notification list so you can be one of the 1,000 people who will gain access to this controversial new program.

All you have to do is click on this link:

http://www.fitstep.com/goto/oa-supplements.htm

and sign up for the "Early Bird" Notification List now.

Anabolically yours,
The "Muscle Nerd"
Jeff Anderson

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