Posts Tagged ‘Muscle Pumping’
Chasing dream around the world
Since then, Graber-Vasani has recorded top-10 finishes in Spain, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Ohio. In the past month, she has finished second at the FIBO Pro Fitness event in Cologne, Germany, and first at both the Arnold Classic Brasil in Rio de Janeiro and the Toronto Pro Fitness SuperShow, Canada’s only professional fitness event.
Sibley Park can give you a WORKOUT
June 17, 2013
Sibley Park can give you a WORKOUT
Outdoor exercise equipment added
The Mankato Free Press
The Mankato Free Press
Mon Jun 17, 2013, 06:14 AM CDT
MANKATO — South-central Minnesotans can now get a daily full-body workout without joining a fitness center.
Outdoor exercise equipment has been installed and is available for use at Sibley Park.
“If you don’t have a gym membership, you can come here and work out in the summertime,” said Mankato Parks Supt. Mark McQuillan.
Equipment includes a cardio stepper, squat press, Tai-chi wheels, a chest backpress, an ab crunch and leg lift, and more. Located adjacent to the farm-themed playground near Mound Avenue, the Sibley HealthBeat exercise equipment will receive a formal dedication sometime in the next month.
The city’s first outdoor fitness system came to be following a $35,000 grant from the Mayo Clinic Health System, which owns and operates Mankato’s hospital. Dr. Greg Kutcher, regional president and CEO of MCHS, said the purpose of the new equipment is to shrink the number of hospital patients.
“By engaging in regular exercise, people can live healthier, feel better and help reduce the need to access health care services in the first place,” Kutcher said in a statement.
Assistant City Manager Tanya Ange said the equipment will provide all citizens with an opportunity to stay fit and said the addition to Sibley Park’s amenities fits with the prevention and wellness goals that are part of the city’s long-range comprehensive plan, known as Envision 2020.
On Thursday afternoon, the only workouts being conducted on the new equipment were by some kids who had spilled over from the playground and were using some of the contraptions as makeshift monkey-bars. But McQuillan is confident usage will grow as word gets out about the free workout stations.
In addition, some senior citizen groups are planning to bring members to the park with instructions on how each of the machines is used and the health benefits it provides, he said.
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Findings Presented at ENDO 2013 Support Therapeutic Potential of Natpara …
NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:NPSP), a biopharmaceutical company
pioneering and delivering therapies that transform the lives of patients
with rare diseases worldwide, yesterday presented findings supporting
the therapeutic potential of Natpara® (recombinant full-length human
parathyroid hormone or rhPTH [1-84]) in poster sessions at ENDO 2013,
The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA.
Natpara is a bioengineered replica of human parathyroid hormone that is
being developed by NPS for adults with hypoparathyroidism, a rare and
complex endocrine disorder that is characterized by insufficient levels
of parathyroid hormone, the body’s principal regulator of calcium and
phosphorus.
“These findings suggest Natpara may provide an important new treatment
option for patients with hypoparathyroidism by improving the calcium and
phosphorus mineral imbalance associated with this complex disorder while
significantly reducing the dependence on calcium and vitamin D
supplementation,” said Roger Garceau, MD, executive vice president and
chief medical officer of NPS Pharmaceuticals. “Our growing collection of
clinical data for Natpara supports its therapeutic potential as the
first replacement therapy targeting the underlying cause of adult
hypoparathyroidism and we look forward to filing our U.S. Biologic
License Application later this year.”
Hypoparathyroidism is the only classic endocrine disorder without an
FDA-approved replacement therapy. Current treatment approaches focus on
symptom management through high doses of calcium and active vitamin D,
which can lead to serious side effects and long-term consequences.
Treatment with Natpara resulted in maintained serum active vitamin D
levels despite a significant reduction in active vitamin D requirements.
In a poster presentation on Sunday, June 16, lead study investigator
Dolores M. Shoback, M.D., Professor in Residence at the University of
California, San Francisco School of Medicine, presented results
analyzing the effects of Natpara on vitamin D metabolism in patients
with hypoparathyroidism in two clinical trials, a Phase 1 study and
REPLACE, a Phase 3 registration study. The results indicate that Natpara
treatment maintains serum levels of active vitamin D in the normal range
despite a significant reduction in active vitamin D requirements, while
maintaining serum calcium at or near baseline, and reducing 24-hour
urinary calcium in patients deficient in endogenous PTH secretion.
All patients enrolled were prescribed calcium and active vitamin D
supplements (calcitriol or 1 alpha calcifediol). In the Phase 1 study,
patients received two doses of Natpara (50 and 100 μg), separated by a
washout period of seven days or more.
In the Phase 1 study, serum active vitamin D increased to maximum
baseline-adjusted level of 27.2 ±18.3 and 19.6 ±11.0 pg/ml with the
50-µg and 100µg doses of Natpara, respectively. 24-hour urine calcium
excretion decreased by 13% and 23% with the 50- and 100µg doses,
respectively. Serum calcium levels showed maximum mean increases of 0.7
to 0.9 mg/dL 12 hours after the Natpara injection and remained above
baseline levels after 24 hours with either dose.
In REPLACE, 43% (36/84) patients treated with Natpara became independent
of active vitamin D and reduced daily calcium to less than 500 mg/day
versus 5% (2/37) patients in the placebo group by week 24 (P0.001).
Active vitamin D doses were decreased by 79% in the Natpara group (n=90)
and 30% in the placebo group (n=44) at week 24 (P0.001). Despite
reductions in active vitamin D use by Natpara-treated patients, active
vitamin D levels did not change. In contrast, vitamin D showed a greater
mean decrease at week 24 in the Natpara group versus the placebo group.
At week 24, mean urine calcium decreased by -74 ±190 mg/24 hours in the
Natpara group and -84 ±169 mg/24 hours in the placebo group (P=0.06). In
the placebo arm, reductions in urine calcium were mirrored by decreased
total serum calcium levels. In contrast, total serum calcium remained
above or near the baseline levels in Natpara-treated patients. Serum
calcium levels were significantly higher in the Natpara group versus the
placebo group at weeks 1-16 (P0.05) but not at week 24.
Natpara may provide better control of phosphate homeostasis in
addition to the improved control of serum and urinary calcium
In a poster presentation on Sunday, June 16, lead study investigator
Bart L. Clarke, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic
in Rochester, MN, presented results analyzing the effects of Natpara on
serum phosphate levels in patients with hypoparathyroidism in two
clinical trials, a Phase 1 study and REPLACE, a Phase 3 registration
study.
In the Phase 1 study, patients received two doses of Natpara (50 or 100
μg per day), separated by =7 day washout. In the REPLACE study, serum
and urine samples were collected at various pre-defined timepoints
throughout the study for analyses.
Both studies demonstrated substantial effects of Natpara on serum and
urinary phosphate levels. In the Phase 1 study, doses of Natpara (50-µg,
n=6; 100-µg, n=7) decreased mean serum phosphate levels significantly by
a maximum of 1.5 mg/dL within five hours. Natpara also increased total
24-hour urinary phosphate excretion by 51% (50-µg) and 60% (100-µg). In
REPLACE, a marked decrease in serum phosphate in the Natpara group
followed initiation of study drug and was maintained throughout the
treatment period, with serum phosphate declining from baseline of 4.53
±0.7 to 4.08 ±0.7mg/dL at Week 24; serum phosphate did not change from
baseline in the placebo group. The Natpara group showed a significantly
greater decrease over placebo in serum phosphate values at all time
points (P≤0.003); at Week 24, the mean change from baseline (least
square±SE) was −0.47 ±0.07 mg/dL for Natpara versus −0.06 ±0.10 mg/dL
for placebo (P0.001). In both groups, 24-hour urine phosphate excretion
was reduced from baseline at Week 24; these results were not
statistically significant (P=0.07).
About the REPLACE Study
REPLACE was a randomized, double-blind, dose-escalating,
placebo-controlled Phase 3 registration study that investigated the use
of Natpara for the treatment of adults with hypoparathyroidism at more
than 30 sites in North America and Europe.
The study consisted of an average 10-week screening and stabilization
period followed by a 24-week treatment period marked by randomization
(2:1) to 50µg once daily Natpara or placebo. Following randomization,
subjects underwent staged reductions in calcium and vitamin D
supplementation, while maintaining stabilized serum calcium. If needed,
step-wise up-titration of study drug (Natpara or placebo) to a dose of
75 µg and then if necessary to 100 µg over a six to eight week period
was performed. Subjects continued on their final dose through Week 24. A
follow-up period without study drug lasted from Week 24 to Week 28.
In an intent-to-treat analysis, 53 percent (48/90) of Natpara-treated
patients achieved the primary endpoint versus 2 percent (1/44) of
placebo-treated patients (P0.001). The primary efficacy endpoint of
REPLACE was to demonstrate by Week 24 at least a 50 percent reduction
from baseline of both oral calcium supplementation and active vitamin D
metabolite/analog therapy and a total serum calcium concentration that
was normalized or maintained compared to baseline (≥7.5 mg/dL).
At Week 24, 43 percent (36/84) of patients treated with Natpara were
able to achieve independence from active vitamin D therapy and required
only a calcium supplementation dose of 500 mg/day or less, as compared
to five percent (2/37) of patients treated with placebo (P0.0001).
Despite the large reductions in supplementation, serum calcium remained
at or above baseline levels for the Natpara-treated patients. In this
study, Natpara was generally well-tolerated. Overall rates of adverse
events during the 24-week treatment period were similar (90% vs. 96%
Natpara and placebo, respectively). The spectrum of adverse events
reflected underlying disease pathophysiology with most common being
paresthesias, muscle spasms, headache, and hypocalcemia. Based on these
study findings, Natpara may show promise as an effective replacement
therapy for hypoparathyroidism.
About Hypoparathyroidism
Hypoparathyroidism is a rare endocrine disorder in which the body
produces insufficient levels of parathyroid hormone, the principal
regulator of calcium and phosphorus. When the body has too little
parathyroid hormone, blood calcium levels drop and phosphorus levels
increase, which can cause a number of physical and mental symptoms,
including uncontrollable muscle spasms and cramps, tetany, seizures,
fatigue, anxiety, and depression. There is currently no FDA-approved
replacement therapy for hypoparathyroidism, which is currently managed
with large doses of calcium supplementation and active vitamin D therapy
to raise the calcium levels in the blood and reduce the severity of
symptoms. Over time, calcium may build up in the body and result in
serious health risks, including calcifications in the kidneys, heart or
brain. Hypoparathyroidism is believed to affect as many as 100,000
Americans.
About NPS Pharmaceuticals
NPS Pharmaceuticals is a global biopharmaceutical company pioneering and
delivering therapies that transform the lives of patients with rare
diseases worldwide. The company’s lead product, Gattex® (teduglutide
[rDNA origin]) for injection is approved in the U.S. for adult Short
Bowel Syndrome (SBS) patients who are dependent on parenteral support.
Teduglutide is also approved for adult SBS in the European Union under
the brand name Revestive®. NPS is also developing Natpara® (recombinant
full-length human parathyroid hormone or rhPTH [1-84]) for the treatment
of adult hypoparathyroidism and, subject to the resolution of certain
manufacturing issues, expects to submit its Biologic License Application
(BLA) to the FDA in 2013.
NPS’s earlier stage pipeline includes two calcilytic compounds, NPSP790
and NPSP795, with potential application in rare disorders involving
increased calcium receptor activity, such as autosomal dominant
hypocalcemia with hypercalciuria (ADHH). NPS complements its proprietary
programs with a royalty-based portfolio of products and product
candidates that includes agreements with Amgen, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen
Pharmaceuticals and Kyowa Hakko Kirin. Additional information about NPS
is available through its corporate website, http://www.npsp.com.
“NPS,” “NPS Pharmaceuticals,” “Gattex,” “Natpara”, “Preotact”, and
“Revestive” are the company’s trademarks.
Disclosure notice
Statements made in this press release, which are not historical in
nature, constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe
harbor provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These statements are based on the company’s current expectations and
beliefs and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in
the forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements include, but
are not limited to, statements concerning the company’s future financial
performance. Risks associated to the company’s business include, but are
not limited to, the risks associated with any failure by the company to
successfully commercialize Gattex (teduglutide [rDNA origin])for
injection, including the risk that physicians and patients may not see
the advantages of Gattex and may therefore be reluctant to utilize the
product, the risk that private and public payers may be reluctant to
cover or provide reimbursement for Gattex, the risk that the company may
be unable to resolve the manufacturing issue in order to submit its BLA
for Natpara, the risks associated with the company’s strategy, global
macroeconomic conditions, the impact of changes in management or staff
levels, the effect of legislation effecting healthcare reform in the
United States, as well as other risk factors described in the company’s
periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,
including its Annual Report on Form 10-K and Form 10-Qs. All information
in this press release is as of the date of this release and NPS
undertakes no duty to update this information, whether as a result of
new information, future events or otherwise.
Contacts
NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Susan M. Mesco, 908-450-5516
smesco@npsp.com
FEATURE: Women Need To Grow Some… Muscles.
I am a female personal trainer (PT) working in gyms around Oxford. I have my own varied ‘workout’ history and climbed the ropes from runs outside, DVDs at home, braving the gym, doing endless cardio, not going to the gym, getting back into it, only to do more endless cardio…. get bored again… stop going, getting fed up!
by Elektra Pavlou | 16th June 2013
Until I made the sensible decision to hire a Personal Trainer because I just couldn’t get it right and I wanted to start using the dumb bells and other equipment in the gym. Needless to say he introduced me to a whole new world. For a small investment (which I will never regret), he introduced me to weights, resistance exercises (using machines), and compound work such as squatting and deadlifting… and it has been smooth sailing for me, ever since. After training with him for only a few months, my transformation inspired me to share my revelations with others. I then qualified as a PT with the sole of getting women moving in much more exciting ways and to look and feel better about themselves.
I aim this article at women more specifically as we seem to be the ones who get sucked into that endless cardio loop. Every day when I walk into work I see most men doing all the seriously cool stuff with the weights, feeling completely opposite to the women on the stationary bikes who like to read a book or watch TV while they cycle, or I see some women who ‘love’ to alternate between treadmill and cross trainer and seem to just stare ahead in a daze, looking as if they’re about to pass out from some serious boredom.
I’d like to give all the women out there, who are looking to get fitter, some information about why they need to ditch those treadmills or cross trainers and start incorporating Resistance Training into their workouts, or just ditch the cardio altogether. Below I will list a few of the main advantages of changing the way you workout and give you some comparisons to other forms of exercise.
1. With resistance training you get MORE for LESS – what this means is that if you were to train on machines with weights for 30 minutes and compare this to running on a treadmill for 30 minutes (on a similar effort level) the benefits of the resistance workout will far outweigh that of the treadmill. The beauty of resistance work is that you burn calories while working out, but because of the resistance and pressure placed on your muscles (causing them to tear slightly), they then need to recover. So when you feel muscular soreness the next day and have trouble sitting and getting up stairs, you should know that you are still burning calories from the workout the day before!
2. Body Muscle % – another advantage of doing resistance training over other forms of exercise is that it builds your muscles (making you leaner). The more muscle you have around your body, the harder it needs to work to stay awake and function and … the more calories you burn. Please know, women are not built to gain crazy amounts of muscles mass so you do not need to worry about bulking up. The combination of oestrogen and testosterone in our bodies results in a firm toned look. If you are female and want some muscle then simply speak to a qualified personal trainer about the ways that you can achieve this. Just remember, building muscle is a very slow process, and for women it is a great achievement due to our lower testosterone levels.
3. From resistance exercise you will also gain whole body strength benefits, which is difficult to get from other types of exercise. Swimming is a great but the problem is you would need to do a whole lot of swimming to equal just 1 hour of weights in the gym to get the same results! Simple things like carrying your babies, physical work or walking long distances become easier. Daily tasks such as carrying the millions of shopping bags from the car into the house all become easier and less troublesome. All because your muscles are stronger and your body is more capable.
4. Especially for women, resistance training increases the production of minerals for your bones and joints. As you hit the big M, your bone density significantly reduces… but resistance training slows this process down, keeping you stronger for longer.
5. The psychological benefits are outrageous. This applies for before, during and after workouts. Would you rather be the woman eagerly anticipating a 30 minute, heavy weight resistance workout and 6 different exercises, or the one who alternates between treadmill and cross trainer, for endless minutes and hours? I choose woman number 1! In addition to this, no matter how much you weigh, the more weight you lift the less you worry about your looks and the more you start to respect yourself and love yourself.
One of the easiest ways for people to start leading healthier lifestyles is by starting with exercise…. Once you see how easy it is to maintain good habits, this has other knock on effects like changing your nutrition to suit your goals in the gym and it all just blooms from there.
So…. Women, whatever your race or creed, age or size, do yourselves a massive favour and pick up some weights. Be #BeautifulStrong
Like my FB page – www.facebook.com/eFITT.eu – to keep in touch with my ramblings and if you have any questions don’t be afraid to drop me a line. I’m offering a special 4-weeks online training deal for anyone that quotes this article!
- _ -
Elektra Pavlou is a Fitness Trainer based in Oxford and holds qualifications in psychology and nutrition.
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Harmon goes pro
Brownsboro graduate Candace (Wilcox) Harmon earned her professional status in the World Beauty Fitness and Fashion, Inc. in late May during her first WBFF event in Kansas City.
A 39-year old mother of two, Harmon got a late start in professional bodybuilding as she decided to start competing in 2008 as a way to challenge herself.
“I quickly fell in love with the sport and the thrill of competing. This is probably more of a mental sport than even physical,” she said. “There are many events and functions where I am around delicious foods that are not on my meal plan. While temptation is around everywhere, I just always tell myself, ‘eating that is the difference between first and second’”
After competing for several years she decided to pursue a professional status last year.
On May 25 she claimed that pro status by winning first place in the 35-plus bikini diva division and third place in open short bikini diva that was open to all ages.
“I was very active in sports while at Brownsboro. I played basketball under the coaching of one of my favorite people, coach Griffin,” she said. “I wouldn’t start weight training until college. I just wish I would have known about this earlier. Being 39 and competing offers its own disadvantages but pushes me even harder to prove age is just a number.”
While balancing a busy schedule as a pro athlete, mother and wife, she also is a personal trainer at Woodcreek Athletic Club in Tyler. She appears on Fox 51 each week giving fitness tips.
“I, along with my husband, coach Upward soccer and basketball every year through our church. We also take an eightweek rotation, twice a year, teaching children’s church,” she said. “How do I balance it all? It is challenging at times to balance church, work, family, friends, and competing. While my family always comes first, I believe it is imperative that my boys see their mom taking care of herself. They along with my husband are my biggest supporters.
“They are learning a lifestyle from me that will hopefully become a lifestyle for them as they become young men. Competing requires sacrifices, especially financially. I have always had local supporters willing to help me and for that I am grateful. I hope to prove myself as someone who is marketable and be able to work with a company who can help offset some of, if not all, of the costs associated with competing. I don’t care to make money, I just want to compete.”
According to the WBFF website, the organization’s mission is to “strive for international recognition as an industry leader by providing the best opportunities for contestants and models to compete, supporting our partners and effectively promoting health and fitness. We seek to raise the standards within all aspects of our business through innovation and professionalism.”
As she continues to enjoy the competition in bodybuilding, the 1992 BHS grad has her sights set on becoming a leader in the organization.
“I love helping other women reach their goals and could see myself as a pro-elite member on Team BSH (Bling, Sweat, Heels) and getting more into a leadership role. Texas is a big state and while Cece Canary WBFF Pro is a great captain here, she has a huge territory. I would love to help provide guidance for competitors in the East Texas/Dallas areas. Another goal of mine is to judge. I have always wanted to be on the ‘other’ side. I think I could learn a lot by judging and it would make me a better competitor as well.”
The No-Equipment Cardio Workout
No gym in your hotel? Run get rained out? No problem! This workout makes squeezing in a cardio session easy to do anytime, anywhere with no equipment—indoors or out.
How it works: Up to four days a week, do 1 set of each exercise back to back, with little to no rest between moves. After you finish the entire circuit, rest 45 to 60 seconds, and then repeat the whole thing 2 more times (3 circuits total).
You’ll need: Nothing!
RELATED: Fry Fat with a Resistance Band
Mr Muscle Man Shane Charter’s supplementary benefits
Shane Charter’s gentle voice belies his imposing physique. Picture: Chris Scott
Source: Herald Sun
SHANE Charter was a wiry kid. Tall, skinny and quick on his feet, he’d always been a decent football player.
In fact, he was captain of the Castlemaine under-18s. It was when he stepped up to the seniors that he realised the game wasn’t all about skill.
He was getting knocked around every other week – more rag doll than ruckman. He needed bulk and muscles, and fast. “So I hit the gym and never came back,” he says. “I put on 10kg and never went back to football. I loved it.”
Embracing the performance-enhancing drugs then in vogue – nandrolone, boldenone, Stanozolol, Dianabol, ephedrine and more – he sculpted himself into a bodybuilding and powerlifting champion.
Yet for all the tanning oil and vein-popping poses that define this strange subculture, Charter says it’s less about vanity and more about chemistry.
“When you first start, you feel like superman, like you can walk through walls,” he says.
“Conversely, when you ‘dump’ (complete a cycle of treatment) the depression is extreme.”
He knows people who have killed themselves as a result of the debilitating lows that can accompany steroid abuse.
Impotence, shrinking testicles, sterility and the growth of unwanted breast tissue – what’s known in the industry as “bitch-tits” – are other hazards.
Shane Charter before he hit the gym .
Charter has never been one to shy away from baring his chest but he says it’s the addictive nature of the highs – not necessarily the need to look ripped – that keeps most users coming back.
He should know. A man who walks the talk, the 45-year-old has been on “the gear” all his adult life.
If he’s pushing steroids, he’s using them. If he’s promoting peptides, he’s injecting them himself. If he’s treating sportsmen with platelet-rich plasma, he’s tried it on his own dodgy knees.
While researching a paper on steroid detection in rats for his university biochemistry degree, Charter used some of the steroids on the animals and kept the rest for himself.
Research and development, an enterprise that allows scientists to legitimately import a range of chemicals into Australia with a permit, remains part of the work Charter does at his Melbourne anti-ageing clinic, Dr Ageless.
Dr Ageless began his professional life as a pharmaceutical salesman for global medical research giant AstraZeneca, building his own business as a personal trainer on the side in the late 1990s.
He began attracting some star clients – football players such as Luke Darcy, Nathan Brown, Simon Garlick, Scott West and Shane Woewodin.
So impressed was Woewodin with Charter’s dietary advice, the Demons star praised him during his acceptance speech for the 2000 Brownlow Medal (Woewodin has since issued a statement saying he received nutritional advice, and nothing more, from Charter).
Shane Charter lifting weights. Picture: Chris Scott
Another of Charter’s star clients from that period was James Hird, the football legend now at the centre of the peptide storm gripping the AFL.
Charter says it was he who introduced Hird to the world of supplements. He is adamant the Essendon coach had always been a stickler for anti-doping rules.
“Hirdy wouldn’t touch them before he met me and he never took anything that was against the rules,” he says.
He says Hird introduced him to club chairman David Evans, who took him on as a consultant at investment firm JB Were for about three months, guiding executives on health and wellbeing.
On meeting Charter, it’s easy to understand how he was able to ingratiate himself with the big end of town.
With a gentle voice that belies his imposing physique, he presents himself as a man who knows his science. An expert, a businessman, a professional.
Everything is milligrams, hormones, fragments, molecules, volumes, kilograms, hydration, fat, composition, muscle and more.
He documents his correspondence with the diligence of a librarian and watches his bank balance like an accountant.
Shane Charter in the gym. Picture: Chris Scott
His multi-million-dollar vineyard home in Sunbury, on Melbourne’s outskirts, features a fully equipped gym, the walls of which are plastered with anatomical drawings and charts.
Biology textbooks are piled high on his office desk and pictures of famous sports stars he has worked with line the walls.
Less visible, however, is evidence of his criminal clients.
In Charter’s catch-all approach to business, everyone is welcome – underworld figures, athletes, lawyers, executives.
Over the years he has treated a range of colourful characters including an alleged major drug trafficker who is aligned with the Calabrian mafia.
Boxer Barry Michael was once a client. So were bikie enforcer Toby Mitchell and his family, as was Tony Mokbel’s former girlfriend, Danielle McGuire.
Charter knows Tony Doherty, the well-known gym operator whose Brunswick facility operates next door to a Bandidos bikie clubhouse.
He baulks at naming his famous football friends, but in talks with the Herald Sun has mentioned controversy-prone North Melbourne hero Wayne Carey and West Coast bad boy Ben Cousins, who Charter says he has twice chaperoned to a rehabilitation clinic in Thailand.
He met “Cuzzi” through their mutual mate, the late underworld figure and sports manager John Giannarelli.
Cousins’ battle with illicit drug addiction has been well publicised, but Charter has no reason to believe he ever used anything in a performance-enhancing capacity.
His sporting interests extend further than football.
Charter says he has given dietary advice to past members of the Australian swimming team and admits telling one international swimmer who won Olympic gold in Sydney how to “optimise” his growth hormone levels.
Charter’s first and only brush with the law came in 2004 during Operation Macer, a joint investigation by Victoria Police’s major drug investigation division and Customs. Before that, he had never been on the law enforcement radar.
So it was no surprise when he turned Crown witness in the drug prosecution that saw a number of figures jailed over a large-scale steroid and pseudoephedrine trafficking operation.
County Court judge John Smallwood noted Charter had been a genuine witness and seemed confused about why he would throw away a successful career by turning to crime.
“You clearly were very good at what you did and gave advice to high-powered people and organisations,” sentencing judge Smallwood said.
“Why you commenced this offending is beyond me.”
The judge remarked that if not for those crimes, Charter’s conduct throughout his life would have been “exemplary”.
Charter struggles to explain it himself.
“When you are mixing in a world of sporting stars, high-powered businessman and criminals, a lot goes on that the general public are never aware of,” he says.
“Unfortunately when you get too close to a hurricane you can get sucked in.”
Charter had been introduced to steroids by a powerlifter who the Herald Sun has established has links with a group called the Council of Australian Powerlifting Organisations.
Based in Albury, on the Hume Highway, CAPO operates a competition that is not subject to anti-doping rules. Some of its members have drug convictions and one of its competitions allegedly once took place in a Rebels bikie clubhouse.
Charter prefers not to revisit these links, saying he’s not proud.
But it is his tangled past that makes him an asset in the biggest anti-doping probe in the history of Australian sport.
He knows all the right people in all the wrong places and, more importantly, understands the science behind manipulating performance-enhancing drug testing regimes because he has done it himself.
Privately, Australian regulators concede that they are losing the fight against performance-enhancing drugs in sport and believe this will change only with big reforms to the way performance-enhancing substances are regulated.
Charter says even the latest biological passports, which track changes in an athlete’s blood for evidence of doping, are not foolproof.
“These biological passport tests are limited and can be manipulated,” he says.
He is assisting the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority in its efforts to unravel the “exotic” supplements program adopted by the Bombers last season.
Charter alleges that he sourced a range of substances for sacked sports scientist Stephen Dank while Dank worked for Essendon.
He has supplied ASADA with a list of peptides and hormones he claims Dank had requested.
Of the substances Dank allegedly requested, Charter has records that indicate he supplied him with growth hormone six, CJC-1295, Melatonan II, Thymosin beat 4 and mechano growth factor.
Separately, he recalls that Dank had also asked him for advice about using what is known as a Myers Cocktail.
Popular among bodybuilders, it is a 45-minute intravenous infusion of various vitamins and minerals. And at about $800 per drip, it’s not cheap.
Charter says he ordered the required equipment, but Dank never collected it.
Dank denies any wrongdoing in relation to his work with footballers. And the Herald Sun does not suggest any of Charter’s clients named in this article obtained illegal drugs from him.
What the future holds for Charter isn’t clear. On the home front, the father of three plans to have another child. He and his wife have previously conceived using IVF. (His steroid use had rendered him temporarily sterile and had led to a heart attack before he’d turned 40.)
He and his wife intend to use the remaining embryos from their earlier treatment, this time through a surrogate.
In the meantime, Dr Ageless has celebrity agent Max Markson helping him get a book about his life and times on to the shelves.
