Cutting Edge Nutrition's Puerto Rican beauty, Arlin Rodriguez

My journey into fitness started as a "Cardio Queen." I would go to the gym do an aerobic class, step on the Stairmaster or run without lifting any weights. I was @ the gym so often doing cardio that I decided to get certified as an AFAA Group fitness instructor. It was then that I met another instructor who competed in Figure and I wanted to look just like her.




I began to lift weights and was astonished by the changes in my body. I read and asked questions about nutrition and hired a Personal trainer to help me enter my 1st show. Unfortunately, a few months before entering a show in Ft Lauderdale, our family moved to Louisville, KY.

Undetered, I sent my application for the KY Muscle NPC show in 2008. Although, I did not place, I learned a lot and met incredible competitors like Trina Liberatore, Sara Shumman and Keisha Pedigo who gave me great advise.

I moved yet again to my current home of Las Vegas, NV. I trained for a year and did Las Vegas Classics in 2009 as a practice contest to KY Muscle. I ended up placing 3rd in Class A. A week later i did the Muscle and placed 4th in Masters.

I recently placed 3rd in Masters & 4th in Figure Class B at the California State NPC show in Culver City. I am currently training for the 2010 USAs here in Las Vegas, NV.



I wanted to make the same difference in others that the one instructor made for me 6 years ago. I became a personal trainer to help that one, "cardio girl" become a bikini or figure competitor. Their transformation and competition is far more satisfying than any trophy I have ever won...except for my future Pro Card! Luv Arlin

Know Your Limits, Then Break Through Them!

It’s almost gone! Yes, that’s right! Any time a great OTC product works, it seems to get banned . Many online stores have already discontinued this AMAZING testosterone booster, but you can still get It here at Cutting Edge Nutrition!


What is Novedex XT? Simply a blend of naturally occurring anti-aromatase inhibiting compounds that have been known to dramatically increase natural testosterone levels! Novedex XT should be taken anywhere from four to six weeks, not exceeding four capsules per day. The best time to use this product is right before you go to sleep at night. The reason Novedex XT should be taken at this time is due to the fact that testosterone levels are generally lower at night, so this will help boost your natural levels while you sleep!

Who should use Novedex XT? Anyone looking to gain lean muscle mass should definitely take advantage of this product while it’s still available! This product also works well with Super Pump 250 and Size-On Maximum Performance. It’s definitely the ideal “Mass Stack.” So, if you’ve been looking for a way to exceed your genetic potential, Novedex XT by Gaspari Nutrition is definitely the way to go!

Mass Quest

Day in and day out, grueling weight training sessions of slamming heavy weights in the gym and eating beyond the point of feeling “Full” still leave your body at the same point it was when you first purchased your gym membership. “Why is this?” one might ask. There are several reasons why the body may not be responding to the current journey at hand, the journey to gain lean muscle mass is never easy! First of all, the most important and usually most over looked obstacle is lack of rest! Yes, the body has to have rest in order to grow ! Typically speaking, a body part should be given ATLEAST 72 hours of rest before trained again. With that being said, it’s generally not a good idea to even train a body part that often unless it is one of your weaker body parts. Most training splits for bodybuilding workouts provide anywhere from five to seven days of rest before being trained again.

The second factor to examine is nutrition! Although an individual may consume good sources of protein, are they taking in enough calories from complex carbohydrate sources and healthy fats? As for the protein, the best guideline to abide by is multiply your bodyweight times 1.5 and that is how much protein you need per day in order to gain lean muscle mass. Also, protein needs to be consumed every two to three hours, so the body will remain in an anabolic (muscle building) state instead of going into a catabolic (muscle loss) state. Don’t forget those complex carbs (i.e. oatmeal, sweet potato, brown rice) and of course, your omega 3 fatty acids! Ok, so how do people find the time to get all these good calories in and so often?

Meal replacements have been the answer to this dilemma for years! However, not all meal replacements are created equal. I can remember going to my local supplement store back in my teenage years and looking for a great weight gainer, so I could look just like the guys on the box! However, much to my disappointment, when I looked at the nutrition facts on the label, the sugar content was equivalent to buying a bag of sugar at the grocery store! Luckily for us hardcore athletes today, the supplement industry has evolved tremendously! Now when people ask what I recommend for a good weight gainer/meal replacement, I can HONESTLY tell them about REAL MASS by Gaspari Nutrition! This awesome product gives you 50g of protein and 78g of carbs per serving! Click here for more info about REAL MASS by Gaspari Nutrition

Trying to Find a Whey?

As I have discussed before in another blog, all WHEY proteins are not created equal. There are pure whey protein isolates and then there are concentrates of whey protein. Well, Optimum Nutrition has taken an extra step to bring you another GREAT WHEY protein formula… Platinum Hydro Whey!


Basically what this protein does is “Hydrolyze” larger proteins and break them down into smaller proteins. So, as no surprise, this allows the proteins to travel into your blood stream quicker. This will ensure that your muscles are getting a more rapid recovery from those hardcore weight training sessions. Another great benefit of Platinum Hydro Whey is that it is made from hydrolyzed whey protein isolates. What does that mean? It means that there is no excess fat, cholesterol or lactose.

Platinum Hydro Whey provides your muscles with 30 grams of hydrolyzed whey protein per serving. In addition to that, each serving contains almost nine grams of BCAA’s (isoleucine, leucine, valine). This fast acting whey protein comes in two delicious flavors, Supercharged Strawberry and Turbo Chocolate. If you’ve been lost on the path to muscle gains, then I suggest you try the Platinum Hydro Whey!

The New Protein Revolution

Just when you thought you had seen all the proteins the supplement industry has to offer, ALRI goes above and beyond to bring you something new…Introducing HumaPro…The world’s first HUMAN protein supplement! What is so great about this product? Protein supplements as we have known them have been in powder form....until NOW! HumaPro is the first protein supplement to be available in tablet form. Thus, making it more appealing to those who don’t like the taste of certain protein shakes/flavors or simply don’t even want to take the time to mix a shake!


Another amazing advantage to this product is that one gram is equivalent to 5.6 grams of pharmaceutical whey! Suggested servings are 5-10g per day four times daily. 40 grams of HumaPro is equivalent to 224 grams of whey protein isolate. This product was just released today! At this time, Cutting Edge Nutrition will be taking pre-orders for the newest revolution of protein, HumaPro! For more product information, please contact Brian or Chad at 2010cuttingedge@gmail.com .

Here at Cutting Edge Nutrition, we pride ourselves on bringing you the latest and greatest products in the bodybuilding world! As hard training bodybuilders/athletes ourselves, we know the demand for late breaking technology in the sports nutrition world. That’s why we go the extra mile to bring our customers up to speed on all the latest products to help them meet their goals

Preparing for War

The task of getting ready for a bodybuilding competition is never easy. It’s almost as if there are two kinds of enemies to fight in this war. The first being internal, then the second one is obviously external. The internal enemy, however can be disguised as a close ally, only if you know how to perceive what this “enemies” intentions are. Ok, let me explain the internal enemy’s role in more detail in the next paragraph.


The mind can carry the body above and beyond barriers that the body can not perceive of going at times. When you begin dieting for a bodybuilding contest, your energy levels generally go down. This is simply due to a decrease in calories (usually from carbohydrates) and increased activity due to the painful addition of cardio! So, as you go through your daily life, you suddenly begin to discover you’re not your normal hyper, chipper self. Instead, you’ve become a lethargic, ill version of the person people once knew.

Keep in mind this is a “normal” experience to go through while preparing for a bodybuilding competition. As the calories decrease and the activity increases, the mood is gonna be slightly altered. So, what this relates to in terms of both an ally and an enemy is simply this: The change in mood and lack of energy seem to be an enemy, however properly coping with this change, can be your best ally on the way to achieving your goal. When I was training for competitions I always lived by the thought of “The worse I feel, the better I’ll look!” Sure enough, the closer I got to contest, I was struggling to do my normal daily routine, but I was slowly revealing a physique I had no idea was there! So, there came the excitement and the “Want to” to keep pressing on till contest day!

Cutting Edge Nutrition Spokes Model Leslie McCarroll

It's with great pleasure that we announce the addition of Leslie McCarroll to the Cutting Edge Nutrition team! Leslie will be competing in the NPC San Jose Bikini show in San Jose, CA on July 10, 2010.
Leslie will be writing blogs/articles for our official online store. In the mean time, you can check out  some of Leslie's work at http://lesliemccarroll.wordpress.com/

Photo taken by Amir Marandi  http://www.marandiproductions.com/

No Ordinary Experience

Have your workouts been lagging and needing an extra boost? No matter how many sets and reps you do, you just can’t seem to get that “Swoll” feeling you get when you have a good muscle pump? Now thanks to Gaspari Nutrition, your worries are over! Introducing Super Pump 250, the most mind-blowing pre-workout product on the market today!


Super Pump 250 contains creatine monohydrate, NO2 Complex { L-Arginine, L-Arginine alpha-ketoglutarate(A-AKG), l-arginine ketoisocaproate, alpha ketoglutaric acid}, Gingko Biloba and caffeine just to name a few ingredients. So there you have all ingredients to provide blood flow to the working muscles (muscle pump), increased mental alertness (gingko biloba) and energy (creatine monohydrate and caffeine). Consumer beware, this product is so addictive, that once you train with it one time, you’ll find it virtually impossible to train without it!

I remember my first experience with it back in 2005 while I was training for the NPC Collegiate Nationals. I needed something to give me the extra boost of energy to make it through my workout, because I was so drained from school and work all day, my problem was solved with Super Pump 250! The pumps I feel while training with this products are absolutely amazing! How much should you take before you train? Suggested serving is 1-3 scoops approximately 45 minutes before training. I have found it best to use two scoops, but each one of us has a different tolerance level, so I recommend starting with one and going from there.

If you’re tired of dragging yourself into the gym and just simply “Going through the motions” my advice to you is simply try Super Pump 250. You’ll love the way it brings new life to your training!

Back to Basics

In today’s modern gyms, it’s so easy for a beginner to get easily confused on what exercises to perform to meet their training goals. For instance, a newbie to the gym walks in and sees a massive, 275 lb , 5% body fat bodybuilder doing iso-lateral pull downs for at least 15 reps. So, obviously the new comer is gonna try and perform this same exercise (less weight of course) in hopes of obtaining a similar physique to the bodybuilder he had previously seen performing the exercise. The iso-lateral pull down is not the only “Cool” machine in the gym, but what is important for beginners to understand is that they don’t need all the fancy equipment to get started.


If the goal is to add overall mass and thickness to the back, I have selected four main “Basic” exercises you might want to give a try for your next back workout! The first exercise is the deadlift! Nothing fancy about this at all. You have a barbell on the floor loaded with weights, you bend down and pick it up off the floor! Sounds easy, right? Well, ask any hardcore lifter and they will tell you right the opposite! This exercise is ideal, because it works pretty much your whole body. As you pull the bar off the ground, your back, traps, glutes and hamstrings are all being hit at once!

The second exercise is my personal favorite, Chin Ups! This exercise targets the Latissimus dorsi (upper back) and is very difficult to perform. Start out using your own body weight as resistance, as you will find, this will be plenty to start with. This will help develop width in your back as well as thickness. There are many variations to the chin up, however, as a beginner, I suggest doing a wide over –hand version to help bring out the width of your latissimus dorsi (lats). If you’re a competitive bodybuilder, this exercise is a must! Go on and try it! You’ll be surprised at how much better your relaxed pose will look!

The Bent Barbell Row is also another old school classic that is hard to beat when it comes to packing on slabs of lean mass to the mid-back! This simply involves gripping a barbell (palms down), leaning forward with knees slightly bent (keep head up) and pulling the bar up to your waist. For an intense burn on this exercise, be sure to squeeze your mid back for one to two seconds upon contraction. Last, but not least are lat pulldowns using a high pulley with a rope. These are good for developing thickness down in the low-mid back and giving an over all “Christmass Tree” appearance to the back. Simply grab a rope from the high position on a cable machine, keep knees slightly bent , back straight and neck neutral with spine. This is not an exercise you should go heavy on unlike the other back exercises I have discussed. I prefer to keep my reps on this particular exercise in the 12-15 range.

So, in a ever changing fitness world where gyms are always introducing new exercises and machines, just remember you don’t always have to  join the latest “fad.”

Winning the War on Fat

If you’re going into battle for the war on fat, you better make sure you come armed with the right weapon! Introducing Lipodrene from Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals! Although, disguised as another ordinary diet pill, make no mistake, Lipodrene is far from ordinary. This fat burning weapon is actually three weapons in one! That’s right, not only does Lipodrene help burn away calories and fat, it also helps control sugar cravings and suppresses your appetite!


Another key component to this AMAZING fat burner is its ability to attack fat in the most stubborn places (i.e. hips, thighs, buttocks). Unlike most products on the market today, Lipodrene also contains 25 mg of ephedra extract per pill. Keep in mind, however, this is not the original EPHEDRENE that was banned a few years ago, this is merely a derivative of that. Each pill also contains 100 mg of caffeine , and a proprietary blend including, but not limited to green tea extract, hoodia extract and 25 mg synephrine hcl. In addition to acting as a great fat burning weapon, Lipodrene is also a natural diuretic.

As the war with fat continues, don’t give up the fight, just attack smarter and harder! However, keep in mind, this unique weapon of attack is only part of your defense. Any time fat loss is the goal, you must change up your dietary habits as well as implement a consistent exercise routine. So, there you have it! Lipodrene combined with a proper exercise and diet routine, will have you winning the war on what you once thought was impossible!

Commitment to Excellence

Nothing worth pursuing in life is ever easy!"
Throughout our lives, we often find many road blocks on the highway to success! What separates the winners from the losers in life is how we choose to perceive and go about these barriers. It's easy to look at an obstacle and say, "Well, it's too complicated, I'll go another route!" People who choose to look at life this way usually get by in life, but never step out and achieve that greatness they once had in mind. People in this category generally find themselves experiencing the "Rocking Chair Effect" That simply stated, means when we're older we'll look back and say, "Oh, if only I had done this, or if I had done that!"

Nothing wrong with the personality type I mentioned in the pre-ceeding paragraph, but that's not the characteristics of what makes a great champion of life. A true champion of life will simply look at the barrier and say, "How will I get around this?" At that point, this person starts brain storming for ways around the barrier and setting out small steps in order to reach the major goal at hand, "OVERCOMING THE BARRIER TO SUCCESS!"

If all things in life were easy to accomplish, then everyone alive would be doing great things. Unfortunately, life is not set up this way. We must reach deep within ourselves and figure out what tools we have to achieve greatness! God gave each one of us a unique talent and/or personality trait to, not only achieve our goals, but to differentiate ourselves from others, so that we can be unique in the way we achieve those goals!

Are You Going the Right Whey?

Just like food sources that provide a complete and incomplete protein source, your whey protein powders (concentrate and isolate) do not provide all benefits necessary for muscle repair and growth. For example, whey protein concentrate only provides 70%-85% protein and usually, but not always may have some whey isolate blended in. However, the isolate contains 90%-98% protein and has a higher biological value (BV). The only downside to the isolate, incidentally is that is cost more than the concentrate. With that being said, YOU DO GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR! The isolate has the higher percentage of protein per scoop as opposed to the concentrate. Another benefit to the isolate is that it stays in your system longer after ingestion, so it keeps those starving muscles fuller for a longer period of time.

This is not a biased blog suggesting that whey concentrate is no good and should not be consumed. Even though the percentage of protein per scoop may be less than that of the isolate, YOU ARE STILL GETTING IN PROTEIN! With that being said, it’s clearly up to the consumer as to what protein source they want to go with. As I mentioned earlier, the isolate is more expensive, but you do reap more of the training benefits you’re after by going with the isolate. One of those whey isolates is Optimum Nutrition’s 100% Gold Standard Whey Protein. Each scoop of 100% Gold Stand Whey gives you 24 grams of muscle building protein!


As for what we recommend on the whey concentrate side, Champion Nutrition makes a delicious whey protein PURE WHEY PROTEIN STACK! This protein gives you a high amount of the essential amino-acids, as well as glutamine peptides necessary for muscle growth and repair! Each scoop gives you 26 grams of protein and also as little as 1.5 grams of carbs per scoop! So, this qualifies as a must have in any low carb dieter’s nutrition plan! In conclusion, both types of proteins (concentrate and isolate) are both great sources of getting the essential nutrients needed to recover from intense training, however it’s up to you to see which one suits your nutrition requirements as well as your wallet!