Tiger Looks to Take Stigma out of Supplements with MusclePharm Bag Deal

[iacas]

“Our goal is to take the stigma out of supplements,” said Mark Steinberg, Woods’s agent. “Tiger Woods, maybe the most fit golfer that we’ve had, lets show that it’s O.K. to align yourself with supplements. Just be safe when you do it. That’s the message we collectively want to spread. Anything we do, if we create a Tiger line, we’ll make sure it’s approved by the tour, so nobody’s going to ingest anything that puts him in harm’s way.”

“(Supplements are) something that I believe in and something that I do, something that I put in my body and for recovery,” Woods said. “As we all age and get a little bit older, it’s about nutrition, and that’s how we are able to stay explosive and how we are able to recover and stay strong for a long period of time.”

[Gunther]

No problem with this; I take pre-workout powder and protein post-workout. As long as the ingredients are on the OK list, more power to them...

[RonTheSavage]

I take a post workout Protein shake myself. But you do have to be careful and read the ingrediants because dietary supplement manufacturers are not required to obtain approval from FDA before marketing dietary supplements. With all the steroid Tiger talk Id be surprised if Muscle Pharm had anything suspect in the ingredients.

[iacas]

I take a post workout Protein shake myself. But you do have to be careful and read the ingrediants because dietary supplement manufacturers are not required to obtain approval from FDA before marketing dietary supplements. With all the steroid Tiger talk Im sure whatever he's going to market with will be fine.

MusclePharm's head of marketing has a bit of a shady (and not-too-distant) past with steroids. That's the only red flag here. Otherwise, I agree, supplements are perfectly fine. Technically, if you take a vitamin pill, a fish oil capsule, etc. you're taking supplements.

[David in FL]

“Our goal is to take the stigma out of supplements,” said Mark Steinberg, Woods’s agent. “Tiger Woods, maybe the most fit golfer that we’ve had, lets show that it’s O.K. to align yourself with supplements. Just be safe when you do it. That’s the message we collectively want to spread. Anything we do, if we create a Tiger line, we’ll make sure it’s approved by the tour, so nobody’s going to ingest anything that puts him in harm’s way.”

“(Supplements are) something that I believe in and something that I do, something that I put in my body and for recovery,” Woods said. “As we all age and get a little bit older, it’s about nutrition, and that’s how we are able to stay explosive and how we are able to recover and stay strong for a long period of time.”

I have no problem with legal supplements at all.  I find it interesting that they would specifically align with Tiger though, given his run of injuries and the number of tournaments he's missed as a result.  I'm not sure he qualifies as "the most fit golfer that we've had" anymore......

[saevel25]

I have no problem with legal supplements at all.  I find it interesting that they would specifically align with Tiger though, given his run of injuries and the number of tournaments he's missed as a result.  I'm not sure he qualifies as "the most fit golfer that we've had" anymore......

Fit and injury prone are two different things. Would you say a guy who is 50 lbs over weight, who never gets hurt because he doesn't play sports more fit than Tiger woods?

I think Tiger is a very fit person. I think he has been bit by the injury bug. I think he tries to play hurt too often.

I have no problem with this. I think a lot of the target customers for this company know that supplements can help rehab, and either from an injury or just general wear and tear. So I think it fits.

[RonTheSavage]

MusclePharm's head of marketing has a bit of a shady (and not-too-distant) past with steroids. That's the only red flag here. Otherwise, I agree, supplements are perfectly fine. Technically, if you take a vitamin pill, a fish oil capsule, etc. you're taking supplements.

Yeah I'd say thats a red flag. I had no idea. Now I know at least part of the reason why every so often the "Tiger's on Steroids" guys show up on the boards LOL.

[David in FL]

Fit and injury prone are two different things. Would you say a guy who is 50 lbs over weight, who never gets hurt because he doesn't play sports more fit than Tiger woods?

I think Tiger is a very fit person. I think he has been bit by the injury bug. I think he tries to play hurt too often.

I have no problem with this. I think a lot of the target customers for this company know that supplements can help rehab, and either from an injury or just general wear and tear. So I think it fits.

There are a LOT of physical studs on tour these days.  It also seems as if Tiger injures himself more often than the majority of tour players.  From that perspective, I'm surprised that they would choose to align with Tiger rather than someone less injury prone.

Having said that, he's one of the top names in sport, so maybe they're expecting that the name itself will overshadow any perceived incongruity.  Or you may also be right, and they're hoping to capitalize on the "recovery" aspect.

[ChrisP]

This topic was discussed on local sports radio here a few weeks ago and they actually had a couple doctors on who work with golfers in the Tampa area. Both said that Tiger should look at "de-bulking" and that his upper body body mass has actually increased the chance for lower body injuries. And if you look at a majority of Tiger's injuries since really '08, a majority have been below the chest where the muscle mass is (knee problems, achilles, lower back)

As for steroids, it's all opinion on whether he took them. No proof's come out. I have my questions like a lot do. I personally don't think he took steroids. I think if he did take something, he would have taken HGH in 2008 to try and recover from his knee surgery. It wouldn't be the first time someone's done that. But again, it's all speculation based on the era we live in, the injuries he's sustained and the people he's alligned himself with. And there will always be speculation there...just hopefully no proof because that would destroy the game.

[iacas]

This topic was discussed on local sports radio here a few weeks ago and they actually had a couple doctors on who work with golfers in the Tampa area. Both said that Tiger should look at "de-bulking" and that his upper body body mass has actually increased the chance for lower body injuries. And if you look at a majority of Tiger's injuries since really '08, a majority have been below the chest where the muscle mass is (knee problems, achilles, lower back)

I have to wonder too how many of those guys have seen Tiger Woods in person.

He's NOT as physically impressive in person as he appears on TV when he's wearing his perfectly-cut (for him) shirts, etc. TV adds ten pounds (or more), and for Tiger with his clothing it often makes him look far more impressive than he really is in person.

So… I don't know that I believe those doctors if they've never spent much (or any) time actually checking Tiger out in person.

Ask @mvmac what he thinks of Tiger's physique (I'm only tagging Mike because he's seen him recently).

[Zeph]

This topic was discussed on local sports radio here a few weeks ago and they actually had a couple doctors on who work with golfers in the Tampa area. Both said that Tiger should look at "de-bulking" and that his upper body body mass has actually increased the chance for lower body injuries. And if you look at a majority of Tiger's injuries since really '08, a majority have been below the chest where the muscle mass is (knee problems, achilles, lower back)

As for steroids, it's all opinion on whether he took them. No proof's come out. I have my questions like a lot do. I personally don't think he took steroids. I think if he did take something, he would have taken HGH in 2008 to try and recover from his knee surgery. It wouldn't be the first time someone's done that. But again, it's all speculation based on the era we live in, the injuries he's sustained and the people he's alligned himself with. And there will always be speculation there...just hopefully no proof because that would destroy the game.

How is having a somewhat muscular upper body making his knees, achilles and lower back hurt?

Also, correlation does not imply causation.

He doesn't look very big.

[ChrisP]

How is having a somewhat muscular upper body making his knees, achilles and lower back hurt?

Also, correlation does not imply causation.

He doesn't look very big.

I don't know Tiger's workout routine and I'm using doctor's opinions, not mine, but if a majority of your muscle mass is up top, it makes you prone to more injury to your lower body. You see a lot of baseball players who have big upper muscle mass also struggle with lower body injuries. Like I said, though, I don't know Tiger's workout regime or physically where all his muscle mass is.

I've seen Tiger up close a couple times at tourneys, and while he looks pretty ripped, like mentioned above, it could be the shirts. Who knows. The only pictures I've seen without his shirt on were the Vanity Fair pictures and the ones posted above from 2010.

[saevel25]

I don't know Tiger's workout routine and I'm using doctor's opinions, not mine, but if a majority of your muscle mass is up top, it makes you prone to more injury to your lower body. You see a lot of baseball players who have big upper muscle mass also struggle with lower body injuries. Like I said, though, I don't know Tiger's workout regime or physically where all his muscle mass is.

I've seen Tiger up close a couple times at tourneys, and while he looks pretty ripped, like mentioned above, it could be the shirts. Who knows. The only pictures I've seen without his shirt on were the Vanity Fair pictures and the ones posted above from 2010.

I wouldn't trust a doctor if the remarks he makes are just from photo's. I never thought tiger to have a huge upper body compared to the rest of him. He looked in shape.

[ChrisP]

I wouldn't trust a doctor if the remarks he makes are just from photo's. I never thought tiger to have a huge upper body compared to the rest of him. He looked in shape.

Well his upper body muscle has to be pretty big. It's widely known he bench presses at least 315 pounds. Some have said it's more than that. But if you bench over 300, you need to have a pretty impressive upper body. I don't know too many guys who bench over 300 who don't have a chest that sticks out haha.

[minitour]

He kinda looks like me.

...if I could shed this protective layer covering the rippling muscle mass underneath.

[Zeph]

I don't know Tiger's workout routine and I'm using doctor's opinions, not mine, but if a majority of your muscle mass is up top, it makes you prone to more injury to your lower body. You see a lot of baseball players who have big upper muscle mass also struggle with lower body injuries. Like I said, though, I don't know Tiger's workout regime or physically where all his muscle mass is.

I've seen Tiger up close a couple times at tourneys, and while he looks pretty ripped, like mentioned above, it could be the shirts. Who knows. The only pictures I've seen without his shirt on were the Vanity Fair pictures and the ones posted above from 2010.

I would be surprised if he doesn't work out his lower body also. The legs happen to have the largest and most powerful muscles in the body.

[ChrisP]

With the knee problems he had from 2006-2012, my guess is he did not spend a lot of time on lower body for obvious fear reasons. Not a good idea to do squats or quad pushes when your knee is throbbing in pain. And if he was unbalanced top to bottom, it would explain the injuries a little better.

[saevel25]

With the knee problems he had from 2006-2012, my guess is he did not spend a lot of time on lower body for obvious fear reasons. Not a good idea to do squats or quad pushes when your knee is throbbing in pain.

Not sure about that. Depends on the knee issue. I know there are a lot of doctors now who are telling their patients, who have ligament tears in the knee, to keep up moderate weight lifting on the knee to strengthen the surrounding muscles. This cuts down on months of rehab because it limits muscle loss.

I am not sure leg injury is due to not working out with the lower body, or him just trying to play through it too much. After his first surgery he came back after 2 months. Then re-injured his knee. Seems to me he has issues with rehabbing correctly. I bet Tiger pays a lot of smart people to keep him informed and doing the right things when it comes to working out.