WIN a trip to Muscle Beach, California

To mark the launch of it's new
< Whey Protein Iso Complex
which boasts a best-ever formulation and four new flavours, Multipower is offering a one week trip for two to Venice Beach in California.

The fantastic prize includes:
- Day at Muscle Beach Championship
  (September 6, 2010)
- Hotel accommodation
- Car hire
- £500 spending money

Muscle Beach is a location synonymous with the world of health and fitness and has hosted the creation of some of the worlds’ greatest bodies including the 245-pound, movie star turned political heavyweight, Arnold Schwarzenegger and the original Incredible Hulk Lou Ferrigno, who still regularly trains at the site.

To this day, Muscle Beach continues to showcase the very best in exercise and nutrition, and is regarded as ‘the Mecca of bodybuilding’ by fitness fanatics throughout the world.

History of Muscle Beach

The origins of Muscle Beach date back to Kate Giroux, a local teacher, who is believed to have convinced the city of Santa Monica to supply the public with some gymnastics equipment in the mid-1930. As use of the facilities was free, local athletes - keen to escape their economic blues during the depression years- quickly took notice. At first it was predominately used by gymnasts who would practiced their tricks in the open air. These stunts began to attract large crowds and, as a response to the growing popularity the city officials began actively supporting the beach, ultimately installing proper weight-training equipment and a platform for stunt shows.

It was only a matter of years before the beach had spawned its first bodybuilding star. However, somewhat surprising for a sport dominated by men, the first hero was Abbye "Pudgy" Stockton. Stockton revolutionised the world of weightlifting: her beautiful, athletically built, feminine body was at odds with most people’s image of body builders who saw the women involved in weightlifting as looking non-feminine. She was something new and her feminine yet muscle bound physique stood out to everyone. By the time Stockton became famous her nickname “Pudgy” was most definitely ironic as she weighed approximately 115 pounds at a height of 5'2".

One of Stockton’s most significant legacies was her signature two-piece bathing suit which she trained and performed in. It was rare to have seen a woman in anything but a one piece during this time, but because as the traditional one pieces limited the appearance of her impressive physique Stockton designed and created her own outfits which had an effect on swimwear on beaches across California.

Muscle Beach probably wouldn’t have boomed as much as it did during the 1940s without the performances and appearances from the Stockton: she would perform handstands, headstands, and lifts with her group “Pudgy and her boys”.

However, one night in 1959 the history of Muscle Beach took a devastating turn for the worst. For reasons still debated today, bull-dozers arrived in the middle of the night and flattened the whole area.

The body-builders quickly began setting up gyms in property basements across town, one of the most popular of these was set up by bobybuilder Joe Gold. Gold's Gym provided a new home for body builders such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, whilst the Gyms were able to take the trainer’s performance to the next level, they didn’t satisfy their exhibitionist nature. As such, the athletes rallied and began finishing their workouts on the all new Muscle Beach site on Venice Beach.

This new location quickly began to hold a similar status in the community as it’s original. The Beach and it’s stars, including Arnold Shwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno’s, became the subject of the 1977 movie Pumping Iron. This documentary took interest in the site to an international level and many Hollywood producers were quick to make the short journey to the beach to spot talent for their up and coming projects.

With the beach’s profile so high in the world of body-building sponsors soon began to set up competitions for the athletes and for the last 30 years these competitions have been at the heart of Muscle Beach’s quest for physical perfection.

Nowadays the dynamic on the beach has changed slightly, with more and more regular people using the facilities for their regular workouts. However, when a competition comes around the bodybuilders claim back the site and once again make it their home.


More about Whey Protein Iso Complex

Protein replenishment should reside at the heart of every fitness training regime and Multipower, the leading European sportsfood company that has been fine-tuning sports supplement formulations for over thirty years, has just released its finest protein product yet: Whey Protein Iso Complex.

Whatever your sporting discipline, protein can play an important role – either as a means to build muscle or to boost muscle recovery after intensive exercise.

With people’s increasingly hectic lifestyles making meal and training planning ever more difficult, protein shakes also offer an invaluable, high quality small meal to those balancing busy schedules with ambitious training goals.

Whey protein has the highest biological value of all comparable protein sources, and a high concentration of whey is at the heart of the new Whey Protein Iso Complex formulation. This concentration ensures great solubility and rapid absorption, and is combined with glutamine to help both regulate the protein synthesis process and support the immune system.

As well as its functional enhancements, Whey Protein Iso Complex tastes good too. The new formulation comes in four delicious new flavours: French Vanilla Cream, Double Rich Chocolate, Caramel Toffee Fudge and Strawberry Cream.

Used in combination with Multipower’s market-leading drinks and bars (including Red Kick and the Protein and Energy Bar), Whey Protein Iso Complex will offer an unprecedented grade of product for the repair and growth of muscle tissue.

Available in a new 2.25kg tub and with an RRP of £40, Whey Protein Iso Complex is now better value than ever, with each of the 75 servings costing just 53p.