Your Supplement Recommendations?

leeaw said:

I'm looking for appropriate supplements to get energized and focused pre-workout and something to increase muscle strength and/or size post-workout.  Currently, I take whey protein only and am considering Jack3D -or- 1RM -or- Ravage...and...hydrochloride -or- monohydrate creatine.

 

What supplements do you guys use?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2194656/Jack3d-sports-supplement-banned-Britain-fears-lethal-effects.html

Banned in the UK... I used to take that shit too :/

Good post Joshua Naterman. I think coffee is great(personally drink one cup a day) but can be a problem when people get attached to it and they can't function well without it. I have met plenty of people who drink insane amounts of coffee every day(my two brothers included...)

I think whey is great cheap high quality source of protein. I don't even consider it a supplement anymore because it is so big part of my nutrition - it is food . But I don't think it will have major effects on your recovery or muscle development if you already are getting enough high quality protein from food.

I remember Martin Berkhan(LeanGains) saying that glutamine is basically worthless for the most.

I don't see any problem with fish oil: nowadays a bit more omega 3 is always welcome and at least the fish oil sold here is always packed with vitamin D3 - something which is actually essential for people who live in the cold North.

Adriano Flo said:

Josh, only those are the supplements that actually works better?

 

And the rest? Whey? BCAA's? Glutamine? Magnesium? Zinc? 

 

I'm not saying fancy things like carbs powders or bottles with lightning and thunders, or others things that there are marketing above all, but... basic stuff like that, not works? Or only works under certain circunstances?

 

Thanks.

Josh can correct me if I'm wrong. But for the purposes of this discussion, he's not calling those items supplements, as they all fall under the category of proper eating, getting protein etc.

never used supplements in my life. i noticed muscles gain and loss of fat, of course eating high quality foods, varying the diet (usually i follow the paleo diet), varying the carbo assumption and the calories assumption during the week.

both morandi and chechi said to me that no supplements were used in their diets, of course before becomes specialist, a lots of carbo were eaten from pasta and bread, after the shift to specialist on specific apparatus the diet changed...but sure i can't remember all the conversation   

try this, gives me nice result:

first try all natural,

just change habits to good habits and eat healthy , sleep well...

for at least a month

also try every week to exclude 1 type of food,

then the other week exclude other type of food,

so you stay clean from it for 1 week,

to see which type of food doesn't have good effects on you ,

and see which food does have good effects and makes you perform better on training

and after you found out what works for you , keep doing whats works

also read the diet recommendation on the gainer part

if that won't be enough , try to add those supplements , gradually , measure change in results:

use those as they are great quality , tested to work, and have great taste , gives nice results

but still don't be too depended on them, they are only supplments, not meals

BCAA (pre/intra/post workout):

SciVation Xtend (lemon)

1 scoop (devide to 3 or take 1 pre/intra/post workout)
every 3 months take 1 month break

gives energy and focus preworkout , and helps with recovery intra/post workout

don't recommend caffeine/sugar preworkout

usually i drink once in a while , a  warm green tea for pre-workout

gives nice results

Gainer:

BSN True-Mass (Vanilla Ice Cream):
2 scoops with 300ml water and 200 ml milk

take up to 40 minutes after workout

every 3 months take 1 month break

you don't need to use it more than 1-2 a day for sure,

i usually take it hour-2 before sleep when i get back from training

it helps to gain lean muscle mass , espacially if you are an ectomorph

usually i don't like the protein bars,

as they are full of chocholate and sugars, not good for the teeth,

i preffer this gainer with water/milk mix, best i've tested

1 shake a day max  is preffered, and get the rest from the 5-6 healthy meals a day

mostly of vegtables / fruits(berries are awesome),

lean meat and fish , whole wheat bread,seeds/nuts, water, green tea...

maybe get a better quality / organic versions of some of them , try and see which work's better,

prefer foods that doesn't have a tv commercial , ins't procceced , and existed 10,000 years ago

and preffer eating raw / steamed / cooked , to fried / microwave

about low fat milk products (<5%) , it's ok once in a while , i take maybe once a week

and once a week, you can eat whatever you want,

but after some time , you will see the effects of eathing healthy on the body ,

and you won't want to eat unhealthy stuff because of the effect it does to your energy troughout the day

also learn how your food is made and what are the proccesses, and what are the nutritional values on the back means , and which ingridients are good / bad for you ...

make sure you stay anabolic most of the time, and get out fast from a catabolic state

this is key,

to gain muscle you need to not lose muscle first

omega 3 oil:

Carlson labs - Very Finest Fish Oil (Lemon)
spoon once a week

also once in a while,

eat avocado,

and put olive oil on the salad

multi-vitamin:

Optimum Nutrition -  Opti-Men

drink 1 pill with water 

once 2 weeks

after some testings,

all the rest of the supplements used by bodybuilders are not usefull for gymnastics:

like pre-workout(use bcaa instead), creatine(use bcaa instead),....

all you need is : BCAA, Gainer, Omega 3 Oil, Multi-Vitamin

just don't over use it , use in moderation , and cycle/take breaks once in a while,

switch to healthy eating only and sometimes switch to healthy eating + supplements

just remember that it's a supplement,

you still need a good healthy diet ,drink enough water and sleep/recovery and relax/reduce stress,

and also strenght training for hyperthropy(mostly miofibrillic)

and cardio like HiiT sprints to get leaner (tabata,

you can try stairs sprints skipping 1 every time to the 8+ floor)

and good healthy habits and have fun

also measure everything to monitor how your body respond to your eating and training,

and see what's works better for you,

and once in a while try different things,

and continue doing what's works

train 2-3 days a week on strength(mostly rings),

work on all kinds of contractions: eccentric , concentric , isometric, isotonic, isovelocity...

work on high weight low reps on the start of the week

and low weight high reps on the end of the week

mix some plyometrics once in a while

on the last day of the week train to failure

also latex bands... , and free weight for hands(12kg+)

can be usefull for simulating crosses and other rings stuff with lower weight

or for warmup,  do 5-10 minutes of warmup and stretches pre workout,

also if you are at the gym , do mostly cables and free weights , bodyweight excersices and latex bands, 

make sure to stay away from the machines(linear)

but mainly train on the rings they are the best,

after a month you will see some changes , also metabolic rate will increase,

the longer you continue the more exponential the results

also once in a while ,  

circles on the mushrooms are good

and swings on parallel bars

1-2 days a week for sprints and flexibility(isometric/pnf... , stick stretch, skin the cat , splits...) ,

also balance training(like doing a scale)

and once a 3 months take 1 week of from training

if you see here words/acronyms you don't understand  ,

search on google/wikipedia/youtube/here for more info

keep it basic , and don't overcomplicate the training ,

the simpler the better , have fun

this should be a good start

give it a try , and good luck

Cole Dano said:

Josh can correct me if I'm wrong. But for the purposes of this discussion, he's not calling those items supplements, as they all fall under the category of proper eating, getting protein etc.

I think I don't understand your post, Cole. Those items are no supplements? BCAA's for instance? 

Should be some BASIC stuff that, even being supplements, have to be always there? That's my question.

Of course, I'm talking about BCAA'S stuff, magnesium, zinc, glutamine, multivit, etc.

Thanks again.

Adriano Flo said:

I think I don't understand your post, Cole. Those items are no supplements? BCAA's for instance? 

 

Should be some BASIC stuff that, even being supplements, have to be always there? That's my question.

 

Of course, I'm talking about BCAA'S stuff, magnesium, zinc, glutamine, multivit, etc.

 

Thanks again.

Josh is talking about supplements that are specifically for increasing performance; magnesium, zinc, etc. are necessary to maintain health (not necessarily in supplement form), while creatine is not. I guess BCAA's are a bit of a grey area but I do not believe he is referring to them. He was comparing creatine/beta-alanine/caffeine to things like N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine and other stuff thrown into "explosive energy blends" and the like. 

Ian G Myers said:

Josh is talking about supplements that are specifically for increasing performance; magnesium, zinc, etc. are necessary to maintain health (not necessarily in supplement form), while creatine is not. I guess BCAA's are a bit of a grey area but I do not believe he is referring to them. He was comparing creatine/beta-alanine/caffeine to things like N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine and other stuff thrown into "explosive energy blends" and the like. 

All clear now. Thanks Ian ;D