We’ve all seen energy drinks advertised on social media, by influencers, and even by athletes.

And the number of people drinking these on an almost daily basis has been growing for years, affecting their sleep, mood, nervous system, heart health, weight and overall health and energy levels.

Even some elite athletes have begun drinking them, causing trouble down the road.

These energy drinks have high amounts of caffeine, and higher amounts of straight sugar, often under the guise of several different ingredients so you don’t see quite how much is in there.

 So let’s look at what they’re actually doing in the body, how they give that first energy high, then crash, and their effects down the line.

Many people think of bodybuilding as just trying to build the biggest muscles we can. And that’s not quite true.

Bodybuilding is about building one’s ideal physique. And, while that includes achieving bigger muscles, it also means achieving balance, symmetry and aesthetics.

But there are those who do try for building the biggest muscles they can, which there is nothing wrong with.

Unfortunately, many of them employ substances which, while helping to achieve their goals faster, and in some cases achieve more than they could naturally, also result in serious health conditions such as Type 2 Diabetes, something which is becoming more and more prevalent amongst bodybuilders today.

In this article we’re going to cover the use of steroids and insulin injections, why they're used, how they work, and how these significantly increase the risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes down the road.

Anyone who works out, runs, bikes or does any type of intense exercise, knows about DOMS — Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.

This is the soreness you feel not right after a workout or exercise, but 24-48 hours later.

At one point it was thought this was caused by lactic acid build up, but this isn’t the case.

(Lactic acid is an acid that starts to build up just before we reach our VO2 Max and can’t go any further in our exercise or workout.) But lactic acid actually helps you. Your body can metabolize it (burn it and use it as fuel).

So what really causes DOMS? And how can we prevent it or lessen it?

Let’s see.

While this article covers something very important for an athlete, or anyone into fitness of any sort, as it has to do with their endurance, performance, overall health and ability to recover — it’s also important for anyone wishing to raise their overall health and energy levels.

It’s called VO2 Max. V is for Volume, O2 is for Oxygen, and Max is for Maximum.

VO2 max is literally the maximum amount, or volume, of oxygen that your cells can utilize during intense exercise, before you burn out.

And raising this allows us to raise overall performance, energy and endurance, as well as health.

Getting good sleep is one of the most important things we can do, not just for muscle building and fat loss, but for our mood, energy levels, and overall health.

As sleep is when our body is able to recover and repair cells, a lack of it even affects the aging process, speeding it up internally, as well as visibly causing wrinkles and sagging skin.

Yet a third of Americans get poor sleep, and athletes are no stranger to this.

In fact, many athletes, due to overtraining at times, can raise cortisol levels so much that they can have a very hard time getting good sleep.

In this first article of the Extreme Athletes Series we’ll start by going over one of the key, over-riding aspects to maximize not only the ability and performance of an elite athlete, but of anyone.

Because when you put your body through as much stress and pressure as an athlete does, every one of your organs, muscles, nerves, bones, hormones, etc., all play a part.

And, while any weak links will bring down the rest, improving any weak spots in health will help increase the energy production and performance of the overall.

Let’s dive in.

In this article we're going to refresh on what we've learned, and then go over the Longevity Protocol to help reverse Biological Aging, and increase Lifespan and Healthspan.

To summarize, your body is made of 10’s of trillions of cells. It’s nothing but cells.

And the health and longevity of these individual cells determines how long you will live healthy, strong, with high energy and doing the things you want to do.

Testosterone, like Growth Hormone, plays a large role in muscle bulk and strength, as well as fat-burning — in both men and women.

Known as the “male” hormone, we see much higher numbers in men than in women, though women still need this just as men still need some estrogen, the “female” hormone.

Normal testosterone levels give men that chiseled look, high energy levels, and strength.

In women, we also see more definition, muscle, and energy.

And it gives men and women smoother, firmer skin.

Cholesterol is very firmly associated with lifespan. Just not in the way most people think.

In fact, according to newer research, levels of cholesterol in the ranges of 210-240 are associated with longer lifespans.

And lower levels of cholesterol lead to lower levels of energy, overall health and hormonal deficiencies among testosterone, estrogen and others.

In this article we cover how cholesterol actually operates in the body, what it actually has to do with high blood pressure and how it’s not quite the villain it’s been made out to be, but a vital part of our body’s proper functioning.

Everyone wants soft, healthy, supple skin. Especially as we get older.

This is so much the case that about $17 Billion is spent on skin care products yearly. And most of these products, while providing short term results, actually result in worsening conditions over time. This is due to the, in some cases, incredibly toxic ingredients used in many of them including hormone disruptors, formaldehyde, chemicals also used as plastic softeners, carcinogens, allergens, solvents and even neurotoxins.

We even have collagen creams containing collagen peptides to help our skin which… are too big to enter through our pores. So they just wash right off of us in our next shower. In realty, if we want softer, healthier, firmer skin, we need to attack the problem from another angle — internally, by giving our skin what it actually needs to maintain its health and softness. Things that are in very few skin care products.

Most people, when they hit 50, and definitely when they hit 60 or 70, start to lose muscle mass and strength. And most of them think this is just a matter of aging.

But, while aging is definitely a factor here, there is much more going on that is speeding up this process.

I’m 74 years old and I still run in Ironman Triathlons.

I’m strong, I’m lean, and I have more energy than many people half my age. And I’m not alone in this.

So, obviously, age isn’t quite the factor most people think.

But there are key differences between those of us who still keep our muscle and strength, and those of us who don’t. And they’re not genetic.

They’re points that anyone can apply to themselves to start increasing strength and muscle mass again, no matter how old they are.

Many people consider that the weakening of bones is a natural part of aging, and this is true... in part.

But that doesn’t mean this can’t be slowed or even reversed.

Right now, about 44 million people in the US have low bone density. This usually starts to occur after the age of 50, however, more and more, it’s occurring earlier and earlier.

And it doesn’t have to be this way.

In this article we’re going to cover what actually causes lowering bone density, and how we can prevent and even reverse this, achieving strong bones that last.