Obviously taking supplements can give you an edge if the right
supplements are taken correctly. The problem is that most people have no
idea of what to buy in order to help reach their goal. First let me say
that if you solely rely on supplements to bring you to the top, not
only will you waste a lot of money, but you will probably look worse than
when you started. Now then, you need to read up and do some research
on the effects of supplements. Don't rely on some salesman who works
primarily on commission for proper advice.
Here are some basic
supplements that I use, and that I think are crucial in muscle building and
sculpting. First you need to find a good multivitamin. You are probably
wondering what classifies a multivitamin as being a good one. Well
this is easy, in my opinion, the most natural multivitamin is best. While
some people will disagree, I think synthesized multivitamins are junk.
A good indicator of a quality multivitamin is if it turns your pee dark
yellow even when you drink a lot of water. Typically, you want to get
around 500-1,000 mg of Vitamin C, 400-800 IU of Vitamin E, and about
15,000-25,000 IU of Vitamin A from your multivitamin. Usually if these
three vitamins are at this level, all other vitamins and minerals will
be up to par. Some may argue that these levels are toxic, and may cause
side effects. I disagree because I have been taking a multivitamin
with these figures for quite a while, yet I have seen no effects of
toxicity. If you are concerned about this, drink a little extra water.
This will flush out any excess water-soluble vitamins. Multivitamins
should be taken in the morning with the first meal.
Next, Glutamine is crucial for any type of goal. I have found that
it both speeds recovery, aids in strength, and helps increase
endurance. Glutamine is an amino acid that is supposed to increase muscle cell
volumization. What brand you should buy depends on how it mixes in
water. The purest forms of glutamine usually do not taste at all, and
when mixed with water, the solution should be clear. If there are
impurities, the mixed solution will be cloudy.
Creatine is very important for
strength and endurance. In the muscle, creatine is supposed to help in
the production of ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) which is the cellular
energy, in its purest form, used to carry out bodily functions. Simply
put, without ATP, you could not do anything at all, including
transmitting information in your brain. Since the burning up of ATP in the
muscles during a workout occurs, it is obvious that the more ATP available,
the heavier and longer you can go. Since creatine increases ATP
production, taking creatine indirectly increases muscle strength and
endurance. Choosing brands is confusing simply because there are many
different brands. Creatine Monohydrate of any brand is good if you're loading
on creatine or taking creatine for the first time. However, I feel
that brands like Muscle-Tech's Cell-Tech or EAS's Phosphagen HP are both
very good products because there is a transport system built in so that
creatine gets to the muscle more efficiently.
I
recommend 20 grams of creatine for 4 days for the loading process, and
5-10 grams a day for 4 weeks after loading. Caution must be taken
however because creatine transports water from the stomach and other organs
into muscle cells. This is why many people say that creatine is
dangerous because it dehydrates the body. This is not completely true
because your body is not losing water. Water is simply being transported
elsewhere. While supplementing with creatine, I advise you to increase
water intake significantly in order to prevent cramping and an upset
stomach. If taken with glutamine, I think the results will be greater,
since creatine transports water to muscle cells and glutamine increases
muscle cell volumization.
I am kind of skeptical of protein supplements. I feel that if you
have a good diet, then you should not need extra protein. Many people
make the mistake of thinking that you can never eat too much protein or
that eating low carbohydrates and high protein is healthy. This is
bullshit because excessive amounts of protein, carbohydrates, and fat ALL
get stored as fat. Stored fat is simply excess energy storage.
However, studies have shown that 10-20 grams of protein immediately after a
workout can increase muscle mass and influence your body to resume
anabolic activities. I think that EAS, Labrada, and Nature's Best make the
best (quality and taste) protein powders. I strongly advise you to
never replace a meal with a protein shake. However, if you think that you
are going to be in a situation in which you won't get to eat for a
while, packing a protein shake to drink later may not be a bad idea.
Thermogenics are very good for an energy boost. I usually take a
dose in the morning and before a workout. I take Xenadrine, but
Thermadrene and Hydroxycut are also very good products. A word to the wise,
if you rely on thermogenics to burn fat, and don't modify or diet or do
cardio, you will be as fat as when you started. I take thermogenics
solely for an energy boost. Don't make the mistake of taking one of
these before bedtime, even 5 hours before bedtime because I can assure you,
you will not go to sleep for a while! If you have any type of heart
condition, you should not take any type of thermogenics because it does
cause your heart to go a little bit harder than usual.
Having given you advice on some supplements to take, I think you
should consider your goals, and then decide what you should buy. Don't
be scared to experiment and record your progress so you can see what
works for you. These that I have listed are the basics; there are many
more things you can take.
dknowles@alltel.net
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