A Few Moments With: Dr. Jose “Joey” Antonio | Diet and Exercise | Real Life Fitness | PhitZone

Dr. Jose “Joey” Antonio earned his PhD in Muscle Physiology at the University of Texas Southwestern. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), the CEO and co-founder of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, the CSO at Javalution, the sports nutritionist of the Performance Ready Fitness Team, author of eight

published books, and co-host of the Performance Nutrition Show.



Dr. Antonio, I appreciate you taking this time to join us:

ITZ: Why are supplements important to the average Joe?

JA: If the average Joe’s goal is general fitness, then I would suggest a multivitamin and a post-workout protein shake. And that’s pretty much it.

ITZ: How would somebody figure out what supplements they should be taking?

JA: It is always goal-dependent. For instance, if your goal is to gain lean body mass, then creatine clearly is a good choice. Caffeine is a great choice for endurance athletes pre-workout too for instance. Unless folks have a specific goal, then it makes no sense to even talk about supplement use.

ITZ: What is the most misunderstood supplement?

JA: By far, it is protein. There are still academic textbooks that claim eating a high protein diet is bad for the kidneys. Second to protein is creatine. Again, where folks get their info on protein and creatine is beyond me. I’m convinced people will believe what they want to believe, scientific evidence notwithstanding.

ITZ: Given the recent news about Alex Rodriguez, what is your take on performance enhancing drugs in professional sports, such as HGH?

JA: I have no issue as to whether pro athletes take any substance. It’s there bodies, they can do with it what they want. The ultimate question is whether the standard for pro athletes should apply to the average person who just wants to get more muscular. For an athlete to violate a rule of a sport, even if the rule is silly, it is still a violation of the rules. For a layperson to use HGH (human growth hormone) is a different story. Again, the question is this: Who owns our body? If you answered ‘I do’ then clearly personal responsibility is key.

ITZ: You host the Performance Nutrition Show, are the CEO of the ISSN, the CSO of Javalution, as well as the nutritionist of the Performance Ready Team, Where do you find the time?

JA: LOL. I also teach at Florida Atlantic University and Nova Southeastern University and manage clinical trials for VPX. I like doing different projects. It keeps my brain busy. Also, I think the more you diversify yourself, the better off you are in the long run. Don’t be a ‘one trick pony’ as they say.

ITZ: Who are your influences?

JA: My greatest influences are my parents (of course) and my graduate school professors. Outside of that, I was a huge fan of Bruce Lee (his philosophies are timeless) and I do a lot of non-science reading (e.g. Thomas Sowell).

ITZ: What advice should everyone follow?

JA: DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU’RE GOING TO DO! I hate it when folks say they’ll do something and never follow through. You’re better off just not saying anything.

ITZ: What do you do to relax?

JA: Watch my kids play little league softball (twin daughters who are 8 yrs); I go outrigger paddling off of Miami Beach quite a bit as well!

ITZ: Favorite book/movie?

JA: No favorite book, but my favorite fiction writer/author is Vince Flynn. His main character in his books remind me of 24′s Jack Bauer! I’m a huge fan of 24 too. As far as movie? mmmm…as a kid, Enter the Dragon (Bruce Lee) was my fave. I like anything that involves the good guys beating the bad guys. (Throw in some beautiful women in the mix and you have an Oscar winner:))

ITZ: Dr. Antonio, thank you for taking this time with us.

Be sure to visit Performance Nutrition Show, Javalution, Performance Ready Fitness Team, and joseantoniophd.com