The other night, while I was eating my post workout meal of steak, eggs, a little rice and some avocado, my wife was sitting next to me watching her usual shows on the girly channel; Lifetime. As she watched TV and I ate my meal I noticed she was going over her Facebook account. I personally hate Facebook unless for marketing purposes to market your website or blog. But again, I noticed that she was looking through her account.
I noticed that she befriended my long lost cousin, who for the sake of this article will be named just Craig. Craig and I grew up together and loved practically the same things. We loved comic books superheroes; we also collected comic books. We also loved wrestling and working out. When we were little kids we saw Rocky and Rocky 2 about ten times and we even bought some boxing gloves, which by the way I could not bring to his house because my uncle thought we would actually go at it in a real boxing match.
When my cousin was about 14 years of age, which was the time he began to workout, his body took to weight training really well. He was developing a really nice physique. I trained with him on many occasions at my home gym as well as in many commercial gyms.

As time passed on he moved to Florida to try and find some opportunities at the age of about twenty two. One of his dreams was to become a professional wrestler. Although he did not make it to that level, he did manage to wrestle in the local independent wrestling circuit as the dark angel. Whenever he would visit us up north, he would bring some of his taped wrestling matches, which were quite good. He showed skill for the professional wrestling style of wrestling.

As time went on and as it often happens, we lost touch. Now onto what I saw; as my wife looked through her account I saw that Craig left, what I find because I know him, a somewhat disturbing message which read:
I hate “Selfies”
In a dark, dark place in my life. I’ve been nursing arthritis & inflammation on my left arm for a few months. Da arm has gotten better so I thought I can start working out, after my 3rd set da pain shot throughout my whole left arm. Anyone who knows me knows I’ve been in the gym since I was 13 & working out is a big part of my life. I think I have 2 deal with da fact dat I’ll have to live with dis arm inflammation & arthritis 4 da rest of my life & dat my days of tearing up the gym & living my life as a warrior r over…… Sad, Sad, Sad……

Can you believe that pabulum sucking drivel? I left a strong and hopefully motivating reply for him. But he is acting like he is dying of cancer or something. He has developed something similar to a defeated attitude and that is not good because you see, there are solutions to everything.

Real God Fearing men find solutions and do not wallow in self-pity or play the victim. That is a complete waste of time and you accomplish absolutely nothing plus it shows that you have no self-respect especially if you post something like that on a sissified message board like Facebook.
What he has is a basic form of early onset arthritis & inflammation, which happens to be very treatable. I am writing this with the hopes that Craig will read this along with the hopes that all of the winners that read the Intense Apex Alpha Male website can learn something from all of this and come to reasonable conclusions if anyone out there may be suffering from the same thing as my cousin.And remember Craig, you are not an old man. You begin to get old when you convince yourself you are old. That is when the only thing left is death.

Here are 12 Natural Remedies for Arthritis.

http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20443624,00.html

12 Natural Remedies for Arthritis

Arthritis treatments – When joint cartilage wears away, bone rubs against bone, causing osteoarthritis. Sounds painful? It is. Osteoarthritis seriously impairs the quality of life for 27 million Americans. Given that osteoarthritis is so disabling, painful, and common, lots of quack cures are out there, from shark cartilage to copper jewelry to snake venom.
But here are 13 natural remedies that research suggests may actually help ease arthritis pain.

Weight loss

The best remedy maintaining a healthy weight, and losing weight if necessary is not the easiest.

Still, every pound you pare off means 4 pounds less pressure on your knees, says Laura Robbins, senior vice president of education and academic affairs at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.

Some people will see their symptoms disappear if they lose 10 to 20 pounds, says Roy Altman, MD, a rheumatologist and professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Exercise

Physical activity is essential for people with osteoarthritis, whether it means walking around your apartment if you’re a fragile older person or swimming laps if you’re in better shape.

People used to think that exercise made arthritis worse, but the opposite is true—unless you’re pounding the pavement. (Runners with knee osteoarthritis should cut down on mileage, try to cross-train, and run on softer surfaces like tracks and dirt paths.)

Exercise programs should include both aerobic exercise like walking, swimming, or biking and strengthening exercises, such as isometric and isotonic exercises, Dr. Altman says.

Acupuncture

Many people find that acupuncture helps relieve pain and disability due to arthritis; several studies have found benefit from the procedure.

Several trials show acupuncture to be helpful for many people with osteoarthritis, says Dr. Altman. It’s not helpful in everybody.

Glucosamine

There is some evidence that suggests that glucosamine alleviates arthritis pain, but the type of glucosamine matters. There continues to be a lot of controversy about it. There’s a fair amount of data that glucosamine sulfate is beneficial, but glucosamine hydrochloride is not, Dr. Altman says. Almost all of the products that are sold here in the United States are glucosamine hydrochloride. There are no trials demonstrating that glucosamine hydrochloride benefits people with osteoarthritis.

In the studies that did find benefit for glucosamine sulfate, Dr. Altman says, patients took 1,500 milligrams once a day, which resulted in better absorption in the body than splitting the dose.

Chondroitin

Early research found that this supplement was promising when combined with glucosamine. However, more recent studies indicate it’s not effective.

Although some studies suggest that chondroitin sulfate slows arthritis progression, it hasn’t been shown to help symptoms, says Dr. Altman. Studies that found the supplement helpful used 800 milligrams or 1,200 milligrams daily.

They’re really pretty safe, Dr. Altman says of the supplements. The one thing about them is there are no major side effects. They’re fairly well tolerated.
I really good Glucosamine and Chondroitin supplement would be Animal Flex from Universal supplements, makers of the great Animal Pak vitamin supplements.

Topical remedies

Strong-smelling mentholated rubs and creams may make your skin tingle, but many have limited value for osteoarthritis, says Dr. Altman.

However, there are some creams now available that have proven benefit, he adds. Diclofenac gel, sold in the U.S. as Voltaren Gel or Pennsaid by prescription (but available over the counter in Europe), is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug that can ease osteoarthritis pain in the knees, ankles, feet, elbows, wrists, and hands. It hasn’t been evaluated in osteoarthritis of the spine, hip, or shoulder. (Dr. Altman is a consultant for Novartis, the maker of Voltaren Gel.)

Capsaicin cream

Capsaicin cream can also relieve osteoarthritis pain, and it’s available without a prescription.
It’s made from the substance that gives chili peppers their heat.
Nobody knows how it works, although one theory is that the cream relieves pain by depleting the nerve ending of pain-impulse-transmitting chemicals known as substance P and calcitonin gene-related protein, Dr. Altman says.

Electricity

Electrical energy can be used to help ease pain and swelling in arthritic joints in a couple of different ways. Physical therapists often employ transcutaneous electrostimulation, or TENS, which involves placing electrodes around the affected joint and delivering electromagnetic pulses through the skin.

And there’s electroacupuncture, in which the provider uses needles at acupuncture points that are attached to electrodes to pass an electric charge through the acupuncture needles.

There’s some evidence that both approaches can help provide at least short-term pain relief and also ease joint stiffness.

Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic therapy won’t help with osteoarthritis. But what it is useful for, says Dr. Altman, is treating the muscle spasms that often accompany the condition. For example, if you have acute lower back pain, chiropractic manipulation can break up the muscle spasm and scar tissue, easing the pain. Heat and cold treatments can also be helpful for easing these muscle spasms, which aren’t only painful, but can interfere with sleep.

Physical therapy

Most of the time you don’t need to see a physical therapist, Dr. Altman says. Still, in some cases physical therapy can be invaluable. For example, a person who is so weak that he or she has trouble getting out of a chair can benefit from physical therapy, and possibly even have PT adminstered at home. But the therapist should be experienced in treating osteoarthritis. Many physical therapists are used to treating stroke patients or sports injuries or other things where they’re used to pushing people a lot, Dr. Altman says. Physical therapy for osteoarthritis needs to be more gentle.

Information

It’s not a therapy, but learning more about arthritis is actually a powerful weapon. It’s crucial that you understand osteoarthritis and what your limits are and aren’t, says Dr. Altman. There is a lot of good information on the Web, he adds, from the Arthritis Foundation and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for example.You also need to find a doctor, whether it’s your primary-care physician, an internist, or a rheumatologist (a specialist in diseases of the joints), who can take the time to work with you to develop an exercise plan and answer your questions, he says.

Here are some Medical options.

Testosterone replacement therapy – After a man reaches a certain age Steroids and Human Growth Hormone aren’t just downright helpful, but they are damn-near necessary. After 30 years of age a natural trainer is going to have a very hard time making natural gains because your natural testosterone levels plummet.

Read The following and educate yourself. – http://boldanddetermined.com/2011/12/22/the-answer-is-self-respect/
http://boldanddetermined.com/2012/08/19/low-testosterone-levels/

Well My beloved Cousin and all of you wonderful intense apex alpha males out there I will keep you all posted on what Craig Says.
God Bless.
I.A.A.M.