I’m getting disappointed by a growing trend of muscle-head product companies peddling their goods in Triathlete magazines. In the Feb '08 issue of Triathlete Magazine, NO EXPLODE and now, GENR8 is making a debut with full-page ads. This distrubs me. The aim of these companies is narcissism and profit.
My wife and I have both been impressed by the attractive packaging of the NO EXPLODE product. Enought that we actually chatted with a helpful young lad at the local Vitamin Shop where they stock it. It seemed like they had some interesting products I’d be willing to try. Their product mix does seem skewed toward the body-builder/fitness market as opposed to the the specific endurance market, but there may be some cross over.
I don’t see much harm in that. The product information is there for everyone to read. Sarah (my wife), who knows more about such things than I, scanned the product label and pronounced it “interesting” but we didn’t buy any.
Then don’t read the ads. And by the way, what do you think is the business objective of pretty much any company serving the triathlon business, such as Trek, Nike, etc?
Let me answer that: profit.
Carl, but not zipp, they sell their stuff to us at cost.
Dav
Well to be clear any company who sells something is in it with a goal of making a profit, and those who say otherwise are not being sincere. Supplements have their place in life, but I share the concern that anyone who thinks they are going to take a supplement and magically gain 2 mph on a bike or drop 2 minutes on a run without doing everything else that needs to be done is kidding themselves. The real concern however is there is very little regulation on the supplement industry and you really need to be careful what you are using. Some of them contain a lot of stimulants etc. That is why I am very careful about what I use (generally protein powder to supplement protein needs since I am vegetarian) and endurance formulas from reputable companies like Hammer.
Advertising pays most of the cost to produce a publication. You don’t have to read the ads or buy the products. Be glad they are there or your pubs would be very very expensive.
I’d be interested to see a side-by-side nutritional comparision. Are we judging the product b/c it comes from the body building world and assuming it is a bad product?
That said, I’m a die-hard Hammer girl.
I have used NO Xplode in the past.
Here what it does:
it is a combination of new generation Nitric oxide and Creatine with caffeine and Arginine
It is very fast acting and ONLY works in an empty stomach. You take it 30 min prior to weight training and stimulates muscles so you get a fast pump on your muscles. this will result extra muscle swelling in short time and ability lift heavier weight. After you use this you definetely feel the difference, NOT GOOD for endurance because the extra swelling in the muscles reduced the range of motuion etremely where you might even have a difficulty to do regular tasks. The effect lasts about 1-2 hours and after that you are back to normal. I have used over a 7 month period and did not gain any thing only it helps with the motivation during weight training and once the effect is gone in 2 hours it doesn’t do anty harm to your endurance training. However the caffeine and other stuff in it so powerful you might experience some jittery feeling and DO NOT use I mean DO NOT use shaker! Use spoon, because the stuff is like red bull lightly carbonated and if you use shaker it get messy.
My take waste of money even for weight training standards due to temporary benefits.
The aim of these companies is narcissism and profit.
As it should be. If you want to be nice AND poor, join the peace corps.
Carl hit the nail on the head: profit.
In spite of claims to the contrary, many triathletes take the “I am holier than thou” non-triathlete crowd. Why?
Because we compete in three sports. Ooooh. That’s hard.
Hell, if we are willing to admit it, most, if not all, of us were attracted to the sport for precisely that reason. "I want to be an Intergalatic Badass like Mark Allen, Dave Scott, etc. Hell, how many of us walk around with our race t-shirts and other paraphernalia to show the world that we’re triathletes? Pretty narcissistic as far as I’m concerned.
It’s only later, once we are in the sport, that we learn to appreciate the more intangible benefits and self-development aspects.
To poo-poo “muscle heads” because they’re into improving their body’s aesthetics is a slight to the effort they put into their exercise endeavor. As long as people get their asses of the couch, it’s all good.
I’d be interested to see a side-by-side nutritional comparision. Are we judging the product b/c it comes from the body building world and assuming it is a bad product?
That said, I’m a die-hard Hammer girl.
There is NO nutritional info it is a supplement and has Supplement Facts with 8 pages of Fine Print
companies all want profits, already covered
I’d say a decent chunk of the triathlon market is more general-fitness, weekend warrior types than die-hard endurance nuts. Years ago, I was too- tri in the summer, lift heavy in winter. These folks just like being physically active, and aren’t too wrapped up in any one activity or sport.
Once you go off the deep end (and yeah, I’m there too- at the bottom of the pool looking to go deeper!), bodybuilding supplements will likely hinder your endurance endeavors in the form of weight/mass gain. But hey, there’s plenty of endurance stuff to take too if you want.
Greater exposure to the market that will potentially be interested in their product- smart advertising.
"Hell, if we are willing to admit it, most, if not all, of us were attracted to the sport for precisely that reason. “I want to be an Intergalatic Badass like Mark Allen, Dave Scott, etc”
I didn’t even know who they were when I decided to to my first tri. 
“Hell, how many of us walk around with our race t-shirts and other paraphernalia to show the world that we’re triathletes?”
I had a blanket made out of my shirts!
Hell, you’re really good at starting sentences with the word, “hell” 
I have to admit I find this all a little humorous. As someone who came from the “musclehead community” and actually am still there but came to triathlon for the fun and challenge, it is a little humorous that a group that is willing to spend a thousand dollars on a single bike component to save a few ounces would throw stones at another sports glass house for a quirk that they have such as supplements. Lets face it, every sport has things that make people who don’t participate in that sport raise their eye brows a bit and look at you like you are nuts.
I challenge you all to start the New Year off right. Celebrate the quirks of our sport and other sports. If the gym is crowded, be thankful people are trying to take care of themselves. If someone wants to swim 20 miles a week, don’t criticize them but be grateful they found their passion in life. If someone shows up for a local triathlon with a 20 year old beat up bike and have no idea what they are doing, don’t criticize them but welcome them to our own little corner of insanity.
well said
.
Hell…I do use hell a lot.
Touche!
Must not have had my caffeine supplements yet.
I’d be interested to see a side-by-side nutritional comparision. Are we judging the product b/c it comes from the body building world and assuming it is a bad product?
That said, I’m a die-hard Hammer girl.
There is NO nutritional info it is a supplement and has Supplement Facts with 8 pages of Fine Print
NO Xplode’s nutritional info: http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/bsn/xplode.html
GENER8’s nutritional info: http://www.sportspn.co.uk/ProductDetail.asp?productID=2167
Do you see any NUTRITIONAL thing there? Bunch of supplement info thats all.
I’m getting disappointed by a growing trend of muscle-head product companies peddling their goods in Triathlete magazines. In the Feb '08 issue of Triathlete Magazine, NO EXPLODE and now, GENR8 is making a debut with full-page ads. This distrubs me. The aim of these companies is narcissism and profit.
The growing trend? Triathlete Magazine for Feb 2008 is 168 pages. There are two-full page ads. I won’t bore you with the math.
Well Said i008496…exactly my thinking.