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 By: Ctgblue
Just when you thought is was safe to start reading the supplement articles again, I'm BACK! For those of you who know me, welcome back. For those of you who don't, here's the info about me as well as my previous articles. Ctgblue: This time I am focusing specifically on supplements to help lifters over 30. While all of these will work for pretty much every age, many of these are crucial if you lift heavy and have passed the quick recovery years of your 20's. My main areas of focus will be as follows:
This article will only mention items I have tested recently and will probably not rehash many of the items mentioned in the previous articles, although they are all to be considered in their appropriate categories. I am also not biasing any reviews on price, but only on how well I feel they meet their claims. Hint: if they are mentioned here, I feel these supplements meet their claims. The main groups of people I will focus on in this article are not only competitors, but also any lifter who really works hard to continually push himself to be bigger, stronger, leaner, or better. I am not talking about your morning "cardio hamsters" or the guy you see on the flat bench with his cell phone glued to his ear. I am talking about people like me and my wife, who bust our @sses in the gym and need a little help to keep the intensity going. I can tell you that for me, this last year for me has been the year of feeling my age. My recovery has slowed. All of the products I have listed were tested by me, my wife, a good friend, or all of us. A lot of these items were reviewed as I was trying to get back to it after being injured or sick these past 4-5 months, so they really received a serious test.
Getting a little older aren't we? Not 25 anymore? We used to be able to hit the gym 7 days a week, stay up late, eat pretty much what we wanted, and still look pretty darn good. Sometimes we need a little extra push to get us going in the gym. Sometimes that can take the form of a preworkout drink with some extra items to get us moving. I have recently tried several new ones as well as revisiting some old favorites. Garbage: 
Garbage by Garbage is a very good start. I was initially put off by the seemingly "hard-core hype" type advertising this product uses, but this stuff delivers. It wakes you up, supports focus, and has everything in it but the kitchen sink. I really like the fact that it comes in little single serving packs so I can take it to work and use it for an afternoon pick me up as well. Shock Therapy: 
Shock Therapy by Universal Nutrition is another mass concoction of a lot of items that really work well together. (Make sure you don't miss the fact that this one already has caffeine in it and take a thermogenic with it, unless you like having trouble catching your breath between sets.) By itself, it has powered me through some really good workouts on my road to recovery. Steel Edge: 
Steel Edge by Athletic Edge nutrition continues to be a standout. It provides a clean hit of energy without the jitters. It gives you good focus but without all of the added creatine and NO of the other two. (I always add a little extra Creatine and NO to the above mixes, depending on how much they already contain.) Smash Pre-Workout: 
Smash pre-workout by Axis Labs is the latest one I've tried. Very good taste, similar to the Garbage fruit punch, understated but good. It contains Creatine, NO Stimulators, and Caffeine. Goes down easy and no sudden jittery rush from the caffeine.
I fully believe that getting some aminos in the body before early morning workouts helps tremendously with recovery and energy levels. M3 Muscle Bound: 
M3 Muscle Bound by Higher Power is a new Amino Acid based preworkout drink that seems to deliver better workouts and increased energy without stimulants. (Hey guys, work on the taste just a bit though, OK?) GH Stack: GH Stack by Universal Nutrition also delivers on its promise of enhanced recovery. I had tried GH Max with little results, then I tried the GH Stack with good results, and then combined them for VERY GOOD results. 
Xtend: Xtend by Scivation in a NEW LEMONADE flavor. As always, this stuff rocks! I have started to tire of the same grape and fruit punch flavors and this was a welcome addition to my cupboard.
If the preworkout energy drink is not for you, have no fear. There are some excellent energy tabs out there now that will pick you up without giving you the unwelcome crash later. I have been lucky to try some new offerings by some of our excellent supplement companies. All of these will definitely get you going and maintain focus. 
Razor8 by Allmax Nutrition, Hyperdrive 3.0+ by ALRI, 3rd Degree Burn by Gaspari Nutrition, Extreme Fat Burner by Higher Power, Basic Cuts by Designer Supplements, and Spike by Biotest are all excellent energy / thermogenic supplements. Spike and Hyperdrive 3.0+ seem to be more geared towards the pre-workout with the initial hit being a little higher and the drop-off being quicker. Extreme Fat Burner, 3rd Degree Burn, Basic Cuts, and Razor8 lean towards a longer term thermogenic effect. They have a little less of an initial "hit" but a nice drawn out thermogenic effect. None of these gave me the "shaky/wired" feeling and I had no big "stimulant crash" on any of them. All of them can pull double duty as either pre-workout or straight up thermogenic. Just make sure you drink plenty of water (12-16 oz) when you take the Basic Cuts or the cayenne might cause some heartburn or stomach upset. 
Included with this group is an excellent non-stimulant energy enhancer - Aerobitine by SNAC. This one takes a lot more time to realize just how good it is. It takes a good week or two to really appreciate the effects of this one. So those of you with a bad reaction to caffeine, give this one a shot for sure. (There were a couple of more items that might have made it, but a small sample of one or two tabs doesn't give me an accurate idea. Maybe next time I'll get enough to evaluate properly.)
Cr2: 
Along with my favorite CEE supplements I have also recently started using Cr2 by ALRI. As with the rest of their products, this one is excellent. I've also been using my standard CEE supps from the last two articles. I still like to use Edge NO by CEL and IDS Creatine Extreme (now Muscle Volumizer) too. Size-On Tabs: 
Size-On Tabs by Gaspari Nutrition. This blended creatine product is really good. While I prefer the tabs, many people do like the powder. The powder is very tasty and sweet, but tends to bloat me a little more than I like, although this does not seem to be common for everyone. n-CREAse: A new entry into my arsenal is n-CREAse by CEL. This blend of 4 creatines really does the job. These two blended creatine products provide just the right combinations to help stimulate new strength gains.
NOX Surge: The NO tabs from the last two articles continue to be staples. NOX Surge by CEL is a great NO powder with a good hit of energy almost making it a stand-alone. The blue raspberry is tasty too. White Flood: 
New stuff includes White Flood by Controlled Labs. (OK, by itself the taste leaves a bit to be desired, but this stuff works really well.) Blend it with a good creatine choice and you can't go wrong. It provides great pumps and it has beta-alanine in it (you already know I love that tingling feeling.) VasoXplode & Xtend: 
VasoXplode from my friends at Scivation is another new entry. This stuff really tastes good and has just the right amount of product for a pronounced effect, and it's got my beta-alanine too. I am using this with their new Lemonade flavored BCAA Xtend, thank you - no more grape for a month or so. This is the best citrus BCAA powder I have used. I love the way Xtend will almost completely dissolve after a few hours in the water bottle in the fridge. Warning, VasoXplode and White Flood both contain caffeine, so do not double your intake by accidentally taking an additional thermogenic. ATP Charge: ATP Charge by Ultimate Nutrition also makes a great impact on my workouts. I was not really sure where it should go, so by executive decision I chose to include it here.
This is an aspect of hard exercise that many people overlook. As we get older, post workout recovery needs special attention if we want to keep up our intensity in the gym.
I feel strongly that this is an essential recovery component for any lifter, especially us 'experienced' ones. There's a reason it's one of the 'key three' components you must take for DC training. 
L-Glutamine with MSM: L-Glutamine with MSM by IDS is micronized, easy to mix and has an extra 500mg of MSM that I need in addition to the benefits of the glutamine. This will become a new staple in my cupboard. Micronized Glutamine: Micronized Glutamine by AllMax is just that, very micronized and easy to mix. I must also mention the kilo size L-Glutamine by Higher Power too, as it's price and quality make it a good buy.
All of these noticeably supported my recovery and post workout energy levels. Torrent: 
Torrent by Universal - If you read my previous articles, then looked at the ingredients of this, you would swear they made it for me. Whey protein, Waxy Maize Starch, CEE, plus other stuff! Man is it tasty too. Regeneration-X: 
Regeneration-X by ALRI - wow, mix a little extra water when using this or it'll make your hair stand up. It has a seriously strong taste, but it is very refreshing and really picks you up after a hard workout. 2 scoops in 20oz of ice cold water really hits the spot. I found one of the best combinations for me was to add 1 scoop of unflavored whey isolate to it in about 24 oz of ice water in the shaker cup. Proglycosyn: 
Proglycosyn by SNAC is an excellent post workout source of protein, carbs, and some little extras. The vanilla taste is REALLY good and it mixes very well in just a shaker cup. I also used it in the blender as the base of my MRP with some extra slow protein and added some fruit or cocoa powder to adjust the flavor. It works great this way too. ReFuel: ReFuel by CEL is a great post workout carb/electrolyte/BCAA drink, very tasty and it really does 'refuel' you after a hard workout. 
GlycerGrow: GlycerGrow by Controlled Labs is another excellent new supplement. I was not sure where this should go as it works well before and after workouts. When I combine this with ReFuel I get a great continued pump well after the workout is over. WaxiMaize: 
OK, hopefully by the time this gets out, Bodybuilding.com will be carrying the new Vitargo called WaxiMaize by IDS. This stuff tastes great and the 'fruit punch' flavor is not too strong, sort of a good mild strawberry. It is perfect to use with plain unflavored whey isolate with in a PWO shake. It's a new staple for my cupboard for sure.
White Flood or VasoXplode mixed with Lemonade ReFuel, Lemonade Xtend, and 1 scoop of GlycerGrow, add to this n-CREAse or Cr2 and you will experience some REALLY SICK pumps in the gym. This even makes my tiny little arms look impressive, albeit for a short while. Finish with ReFuel and 2 scoops of GlycerGrow followed by a real shake after about 20-30 minutes. (Now you know why my wife calls me a supplement junkie. Hey, when it works, it works. I won't list anything that does not give ME real results.)
Having tried quite a few multi-vitamin packs, I have only found two so far that I actually buy on a regular basis. Animal Pak by Universal and Vita Tech packs by Techline. Both of these are full spectrum supplements and are designed for ATHLETES and HARD TRAINERS, not just a thrown together "batch of stuff". I am always looking for new ones though so any suggestions are welcome.
Wow, am I getting old or what? (don't answer that or I'll "accidentally" ban you) Talking about joints just makes me wonder. (Or was it those heavy SLDL's?) I was able to review quite a few of these and most of them passed the test. This is one supplement area where my wife and I both can FEEL IT if we stop taking them. We tend to lift very heavy at times and probably punish our joints and connective tissue more than most people. 
Our BASIC standard stack usually consists of Glucosamine 1000 and MSM 1500 by NOW Foods, each of these at least twice per day. So when we reviewed the other offerings, it was sometimes difficult to get the same ratio of MSM to Glucosamine. I am guessing that both of us are more prone to feeling the effects from heavy training. So the extra MSM handles that for us. My favorite new stack is AllFlex by Allmax Nutrition combined with Rapid Joint Recovery by IDS (ed. Unfortunately, this IDS product has been discontinued.). This stack has Glucosamine, Chondroiton, MSM, Hyaluronic Acid, and Celadrin. (HELLO, kitchen sink anyone?) I supplemented with the L-Glutamine with MSM from above for the extra needed MSM and this was a great stack. 
My wife's favorite combination is still the Glucosamine 1000 and MSM 1500 by NOW Foods with the occasional use of Celadrin Cream by NOW, Pro Joint by Dorian Yates, or the Joint Performance Roll On by MRM. Excellent products that we feel anyone would benefit from using also include these: Joint Renew Formula by Ultimate Nutrition is excellent. Joint Performance by MRM is very good (and comes with that cool roll on). Animal Flex by Universal, taken twice a day, is fast becoming a new favorite. 
Don't forget to add Super Cissus by USP Labs either. This product works very well in conjunction with the basic MSM/Glucosamine stack after heavy workouts. All of these passed the test once we adjusted dosages to come close to our baseline targets. If you have a favorite brand in there, feel confident about that product working for you.
You MUST be able to relax and SLEEP if you expect to recover at all. There are a few items that do this very well. There was a product a few years back called Extreme KO which set the gold standard for sleep support without any grogginess the next day. I can no longer find it, but all my reviews are based on the fact that we had experienced nothing like it until that time. Until now! 
Myo Phenitropin by Myochem and Phenibut XT by SNS are two standouts we've tried recently - promotes relaxation. Phenibut by Primaforce is also excellent, but 1/2 the dose so I need two. 5-HTP by Primaforce and Melatonin by Higher Power also do a good job of supporting sleep, but are not as effective for us as the phenibut based items listed. I also noticed better sleep patterns, and hence better recovery, while taking the GH Stack and GH Max by Universal and also when using Renewal HGH Workout For Men by Always Young.
These may fall into another category, but they worked so well I felt they deserved their own section and a little more explanation. 
V-50 by IDS - WOW! ... is all I can say. I had such good results on it the first time I had to try it twice to make sure. SAME THING. I got very lean and vascular and very strong without adjusting my caloric intake, even while I was very sick one of the times.
Thermogenic Thyrotabs by Gaspari Nutrition - I took this over the holidays, lost body fat, food was not clean, cardio dropped off, I should have been a pig, I wasn't. Second time I got the flu halfway into it and was unable to workout. I managed to stay lean and hard when I should have just completely smoothed out. Combine this with their 3rd Degree Burn for an awesome pre-contest stack.
Vita Tech packs by Techline - my wife told me she has not had a supplement that she noticed this much difference from since she tried CEE. She said after about one week she felt better, her skin was maintained, her recovery had improved, and she had more energy. Now considering she rarely says anything like this, I figured I needed to set this apart. She has an allergic reaction to very much chromium picolinate, so this was one of the few she tried that did not give her a reaction and was obviously the best she's had, since I must now buy them with every order. Those looking for a great multivitamin training pack, here you go.
Celadrin Cream by NOW Foods - Here it is, enough said. I use it quite a bit after heavy leg days or when I push just a little too far.
Anabolic Pump by USP Labs. This is another one of those products I was skeptical about but it lived up to its claims. Try this one if you have some extra cash. Keep a good diet and stay consistent and you should see good results.
Now I would like to be clear that these supplements were tested over a 4-5 month time frame for accuracy in judging the effectiveness of each particular item. Although many were tested at the same time, there were no redundancies in the testing (IE I did not take two identical types of joint supplementation or two thermogenics). I cycled on and off of each supplement so I could make sure that each worked without carryover from the previous brand. This should help explain the long time frame of the testing. Now, I am not saying that all of these are necessary for everyone all the time. Lord knows I do not take all of them at once or I would explode. But the ones I have listed have been tested by me, my wife, or close personal hard training friends and have proven themselves worthy of inclusion. As always, these supplements do not TAKE THE PLACE of proper nutrition and getting enough rest. But with everything else in place, these absolutely will help to make a difference. Until next time, lift big 2 get big. CTGBLUE PS: Ladies, the next one will be written with you in mind..... Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here! Visitor Reviews Of This Article!
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