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BRAIN
MEETS
BRAWN!
Interview with Rehan Jalali, C.S.N.
Rehan Jalali is a man who
preaches health and fitness,
and practices it, too. He is a
fitness hybrid. He has success-
fully competed in bodybuilding
(and powerlifting) and has pro-
duced and authored best-sell-
ing books on fitness and nutri-
tion including “The Six-Pack
Diet Plan” and “The Sports
Supplement Buyers Guide”.
Jalali also happens to be a
celebrity nutritionist who has
counseled the likes of Sylves-
ter Stallone, Ben Affleck, Bruce
Willis, Matthew Perry, Nicole
Scherzinger, Debra Messing,
Joel Madden, Michael Strahan,
and NBA players Carlos Boozer
and Derek Fisher. He has
developed numerous popular
dietary supplements and has
sometimes been called a “mad
scientist”! Driven by a passion
to help people look and feel
better, he says his goal is to
change the world one body at
a time. He goes by many titles,
depending on the task at hand,
but the title he covets most is
workout fanatic! That’s right,
even though Rehan has been
known to throw on a lab coat
and mix up ingredients, as well
as give seminars on nutrition
and supplements all over the
rehan.indd 2
inside profile
world, he feels even more com- and became a Nutrition major! me to really develop in the in-
fortable with some iron and a Can you believe I started out dustry and make key contacts.
power rack! IFM sat down with college as an accounting major Plus I helped out with Muscle
Rehan and got to know the but I just could not handle Media magazine which was
man behind the Six-Pack! the number crunching! Then I also a great experience.
took a job with EAS (yes that
IFM: So, let’s start with the EAS)-but when I started there, IFM: What bodybuilding titles
basics. What do you do? it was just an up and coming have you held in the past?
supplement company with
RJ: Hard to say exactly! I run three products (remember RJ: A long time ago in a galaxy
the Supplement Research V2G, GKG, and Phosphagen!). far, far away, I was Mr. Texas, Mr.
Foundation www.tsrf.com. That was the best decision I Austin, and the Ironman Natural
I am a Sports Nutrition- made. Working at EAS allowed Bodybuilding champion.
ist, Author, and nutritional
supplement formulator/Mad
Scientist! My goal is to change
the world one body at a time! I
truly want to help people look
and feel better!
IFM: How did you get into
bodybuilding and then nutri-
tion/supplements?
RJ: It all started with high
school football. I trained for
the sport and then transi-
tioned into bodybuilding in col-
lege after being encouraged by
a good friend (who said I had
potential). I also competed in
Powerlifting for the University
of Texas and really learned
the importance of nutrition
in increasing strength and re-
covery. I looked into it further Rehan with Armrit Dhaliwal
INSIDEFITNESS | 107
3/31/09 10:55:52 PM
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IFM: You have worked with
many famous personalities,
what is it like working with
them? What kind of Nutri-
tion/supplementation advice
do you give to them?
RJ: If I told you, I’d have to kill
you! Just kidding. Well actually
I have been fortunate enough
to work with some of the top
celebrities and professional
athletes in the world includ-
ing Olympian’s, Oscar win-
ners, Grammy award winners,
and Emmy award winners. A
few of my favorite clients are
Sylvester Stallone and Michael
Strahan from the NY Giants.
They are very dedicated to fit-
ness and are very cool people
too - they have not let success
get to their heads! The kind
of fitness advice I give them
is based on my book “The
Six-Pack Diet Plan” in which
I recommend eating small,
frequent meals daily, drink-
ing plenty of water, exercising
intensely, and eating plenty of
quality protein, fiber, complex
carbohydrates, and “good
fats”. It varies from individual
to individual - For example,
an actor getting ready for
an action movie in which he
needs to be buff will get a
different plan than an actress
who needs to be super lean for
a TV show. I use blood/urine
testing to get a lot of details
on the person and then can
develop a customized nutri-
tion and supplement program
for them. I also have a three
day peaking plan to get people
ready for events and video/
photo shoots.
IFM: How can and should
someone get started in mak-
ing their own fitness plan?  cortisol (insulin release interferes
RJ: The key is getting good
information. Read books or
websites from people you
trust (a perfect time for me to
plug my book “The Six-Pack
Diet Plan”!). Speak to experts
108 | INSIDEFITNESS
rehan.indd 3
and other people who have
achieved fitness success. And
then execute! You see, most
people know what to do, they
just don’t do what they know!
IFM: Let’s switch gears for a
minute and pick your brain.
What are the latest studies that
we can use to improve body-
building nutrition programs?
RJ: I think what a lot of studies
are showing recently is that
food and certain supplements
can modify or help express
certain genes to further en-
hance lean muscle mass and
increase muscle building. This
is mainly through increasing
protein synthesis and boost-
ing gene transcription and
translation (one example is
Branched Chain Amino Acids).
One very recent published
study out of Brazil showed that
DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid)
rich fish oil helps up - regulate
six key genes (some of which
are involved in muscle build-
ing and immune function) and
down regulates 71 genes. This
study used about 3 grams of
fish oil daily (with 26% EPA
and 54% DHA). The basics of
Rehan with Michael Strahan
Rehan with Sylvester Stallone
bodybuilding (high protein,
complex carbs, etc) will always
be there, but new research is
showing us how to maximize
foods and supplements to get
better results from hard train-
ing. Research is also focusing
on nutrient and supplement
timing to get a better phy-
sique. For example, a key time
for nutrient absorption is right
after training (within 5-10 min-
utes). What you take at this
time can determine how you
recover from a workout and if
you enhance lean muscle mass
or not. This is the time to take
quick acting liquid protein (like
whey protein isolate), Branched
chain amino acids, and simpler/
quick acting carbs like raw, dark
honey or dates/raisins. Eating
right after a workout is also
good for fat loss because it can
enhance metabolic rate signifi-
cantly. Other important times
for eating are breakfast and
pre-bedtime. These two times
are very important times for
slow acting protein (like casein)
to lower muscle catabolism and
improve amino acid utiliza-
tion. Other newer studies show
how foods (especially essential
fatty acids/fish oils) can impact
certain key muscle building
hormones like testosterone,
Growth Hormone, insulin, glu-
cagons, T3 and T4, IGF-1 (and
IGF-II, IGF-III), and SHBG. In
fact, EFA supplementation has
been shown in several recent
studies to lower the excessive
inflammation secondary to
hard training. Avoiding an insu-
lin response at night is vital to
maximizing GH levels while you
sleep and lowering fat storage
(so you shouldn’t eat quick acting
carbs at night and you should also
avoid whey protein isolate as well
since it seems to cause an insulin
response). But conversely, an
insulin response would be desir-
able right after weight training to
increase recovery and recupera-
tion as well as to lower the harm-
ful muscle destroying effects of
with cortisol).
IFM: What is the greatest
muscle-building supplement
of all time? Is there anything
new on the market that even
comes close?
3/31/09 10:55:55 PM
 inside profile
RJ: That’s easy - Creatine!
There are various forms of
creatine out there which are
trying to make it work bet-
ter. But what’s important to
remember is that a majority of
the studies on creatine show-
ing effectiveness used creatine
monohydrate. I’m not sure if
there is anything on the mar-
ket that comes close because
of the sheer amount of posi-
tive research on creatine but I
think Beta-alanine, Furostanol
saponins/(methyl) protodios-
cin, and Essential fatty acid/
fish oil supplementation has
some potential.
IFM: Are there any other
supplements or ingredients
that have impressed you for
muscle gain?
RJ: Yes, Branched chain amino
acids which include L-leucine,
L-isoleucine, and L-valine.
BCAA’s seem to regulate gene
transcription and translation.
They enhance protein synthe-
sis and reduce protein break-
down. Signaling proteins such
as mTOR (mammalian target
of rapamycin - which regulates
growth) is positively modified
by L-Leucine. Recent Japanese
research shows that BCAA
supplementation decreases
Rehan with Matthew Perry
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rehan.indd 4
muscle fatigue, improves
muscle recovery, and increase
lean muscle mass.
Beta-alanine is a nutrient I
really like (I use it myself). It
seems to increase lean body
mass and helps delay fatigue
by buffering the increased H(+)
(Hydrogen ions) concentra-
tion in muscle tissue following
intense exercise - this increase
in H+ can lead to “meta-
bolic acidosis” which is directly
linked to weakness, muscle
failure, and physical exhaus-
tion. So taking Beta-alanine
may allow you to workout
harder and a little longer. This
may of course lead to increased
muscle gain. A good dose is 1.6
grams twice daily - especially
before and after exercise.
IFM: Looking into your crystal
ball, what can we expect in the
future in terms of research on
muscle-gaining training and
nutrition studies?
RJ: Ok I will get my gypsy
outfit including the crystal
ball!! I think nutrigenomics
will be huge. The study of how
nutrients affect and express
(or suppress) certain genes is
fascinating. Also, the effects
of hormones on training and
muscle building (and how
certain nutrients/foods affect
these hormones) will be an
important area of research in
the future.
IFM: What do you think about
fitness in Canada?
I know you’ve visited many
times - how did you like it
personally?
RJ: I have to say that Toronto
is one of my favorite cities in
the world! And I’ve been to a
lot of countries! I even liked it
in the winter - that’s right! I
first came to Toronto to film a
TV show “The Art of Building
Bodies” and absolutely loved
it. I think fitness is booming in
Canada - from the high end fit-
ness and bodybuilding shows
to the popularity of magazines
like Inside Fitness, Canadians
are on the fitness train! Plus
many supplement companies
and fitness magazines are
based in Canada so I know that
there is a high interest in this
area! Also a friend of mine in
Toronto told me “there’s noth-
ing else to do in the winter but
train and grow”! I get numer-
ous emails from Canadians
excited about fitness and
bodybuilding!
IFM: What are your
future plans?
RJ: I have a new book I’m
working on with top celebrity
trainer Gunnar Peterson. I am
working on producing a fitness
based TV show and I want to
continue working with athletes
and celebrities to help them
achieve maximum results.
I am doing work overseas in
Italy, Dubai, India, etc. in help-
ing people get the right fitness
information and products. I
have a weekly celebrity fitness
radio show on CBS radio here
in Los Angeles and I’m pretty
excited about that! I want to
lecture more and give semi-
nars on eating right and taking
supplements. And finally, I
have a dentist appointment
coming up which I am not
looking forward to!
Please visit Rehan’s website
at: www.rehanjalali.com and
join his Facebook page!
Rehan with Inside Fitness Magazine
publisher Terry Frendo.
3/31/09 10:55:59 PM