Hello again friends. After reading my first eight articles from this site, you have learned more than other bodybuilders would in many years. At this time you know everything you need about dieting, nutrition, supplementation and exercising. If you apply everything you have learned under this invaluable bodybuilding series you will start meeting your personal goals.
But you need to know what supplements can give you better results if you take them together, and what supplements you should never stack. The right combination is an extremely difficult decision. It's not uncommon for some supplements when stacked together to bring you worse results than if you would take them individually.
I will try in this article, to give you the best combinations that can truly give you amazing results. But as you understand, there are many different supplements on the market, and each one of them has many different ingredients, so possible combinations can be literally thousands. So I prefer to give you the best, instead of writing 50 articles of what you should or shouldn't stack.
In this article, I will write the "muscle building" supplements you can take together. Just pay attention to how every cycle should be, and I believe that if you apply this sophisticated method that I will teach you, you will be your "own" chemist pretty soon!
Stacking & Cycling
Now, for new bodybuilders, I would like to make clear what the words "stacking" and "cycling" means:
Stacking:
- Stacking means taking two or more bodybuilding supplements at once, in an effort to get better results faster.
Cycling:
- Use supplements for a certain period of time for a specific purpose.
The cycles that you stack with any supplement should not last more than 6-10 weeks, at most. After a long time, anything that you "additionally" supply to your body starts losing its effectiveness, since your body is an extremely adapting machine. Also, it is not very healthy and can get costly to take them all year.
Now before I start analyzing the cycles and stacks, I need to cover something first...
The Ultimate Sophisticated Method For Better Results!
Have you ever wondered why all the steroids that steroid users are taking are always using a slow increase up, and then a slow decrease down? Have you ever wondered why they do that? Of course some of you, you will say: "It's simple John, the body will stop producing natural steroids when you are on supplemented steroids."
I will agree with you friends, but there is one more reason that is very very important! IT'S THE BEST METHOD FOR STEADY GAINS WHILE LOSING THE LEAST AMOUNT AS POSSIBLE AFTER THE STEROID CYCLE!
Of course here we are not going to talk about roids, but just think about it. A gear maybe can have 10 times better results than any supplement, but why shouldn't the progress be the same? Someone can take heavy steroids to get 20-30 pounds as fast as possible, and with that "slow increase/slow decrease" cycle they use, they want to keep as many MUSCLE pounds as possible.
Of course with supplements you can not get "naturally" 20-30 pounds in an 8-10 week cycle, but would it be bad if you could gain 5-10? I bet it would not!
Also, I believe everything in this life should follow a "wave." What I mean is the "line" should go up slowly, and then down, again slowly. If you think about it more deeply, everything is like that. I am sure that you can find tons of examples, but let's be more specific about bodybuilding where the applications are also the same.
You should always increase the calories for bulking, and when you reach your desired level, then slowly you decrease them again. When you do cardio, you start slowly, you go intense, and at the last few minutes you go slowly again before you stop.
The same also when you exercise with weights. Every new season you start slowly increasing the pounds you lift, but if you don't stop (let's say every summer) for a few weeks, you can not have the results that you want, simply because you can not train hard 365 days per year! (Even if you don't want to leave your gym for a couple of weeks every year, you will lift for a specific period of time, lighter weights).
The same rule exists for supplementation. Your body can not get an extreme high dosage from any supplement and then stop it completely. It would be too easy to lose all your gains. Some authors have said to start with a high dosage and then to reduce it. I really believe that this is wrong.
Your body can get adapted extremely easy, and when you supply it with a high dosage at first, it gets a big "shock," but after few days it can get adapted very easily. You don't know how your body will respond if you ALWAYS do something like that. Of course 90% (or more) of the supplements on the market are safe, but it's better to be 100% safe.
If you experience any kind of health problems, you already know not to increase the dosage, instead of starting by supplying your body with a huge serving. So why risk without reason? In contrast, a slow but steady approach is the best. Just increase your muscle without increasing significantly your fat!
Maybe some of the stacks that you will read later, you have taken in the past, but I am sure you have not taken them with the new innovative way that I am going to present you today! Maybe your previous results were poor, but give another try with this method, and you won't lose!
One last note though. As I have said many times, some stacks are not for everyone, because they are based on Pro-Hormones.
So if you are less than 18 years old or if you have high blood pressure, heart or thyroid disease, diabetes, difficulty urinating, or prostate enlargement, avoid any product that contains steroid hormones, because they may cause breast enlargement, testicle shrinkage and infertility in males, and increased facial and body hair, voice deepening, and clitoral enlargement in females.
Higher doses may increase risks. If you are at risk for prostate or breast cancer you should not use any prohormone based product. Always consult your physician before you start any supplement program. And last but not least, NEVER exceed the recommended dosages.
"MUSCLE BUILDING" SUPPLEMENTS YOU CAN STACK
Stack 1 - 19-Norandrostenediol & Tribulus
1) 19-Norandrostenediol and Tribulus
I will start with the "ultimate" stack for a natural bodybuilder. I have seen people in my gym, experience unbelievable results with this stack! They packed on lean muscular pounds as fast as 9 weeks! So let's make a brief summary what each one of these means.
19-Norandrostenediol is an isomer of norandrostenedione. It converts into nortestosterone via enzyme conversion just like the other nor-andro products. But what is very interesting about this steroidal nutrient, is that it seems to be the best in terms of safety and effectiveness!
On the other hand, Tribulus Terrestris herb extract has been shown in studies to have a significant testosterone elevating effect. It is thought that Tribulus Terrestris helps elevate testosterone by increasing natural production levels of luteinizing hormone (LH). (LH is a hormone secreted from the pituitary gland. It is responsible for telling your body to produce testosterone).
For better results, it is better to start taking the first week only 19-Nor-Androstenediol. The reason for this is that you should not shock your body so fast, taking them at the same time. When you finish your first week, continue by taking also Tribulus Terrestris (be sure that the product you took, contains no less than 40%-50% steroidal saponins). Saponins are a group of glycosides (compounds containing carbohydrate molecules) widely distributed in plants.
Here you have a testosterone+testosterone combination that works in different pathways in your body, in order to give you better results! It is better to take them at different hours, not at the same time. For example, take 19-Norandrostenediol before your first, third and fifth meal, (depending also of course at what time you train) and Tribulus with your second and forth. But remember, the last dosage should be at least 4-5 hours before you sleep. After your 9th week, discontinue use for at least 3-4 weeks.
So let's see how can you "stack" these together.
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Stack 2 - Creatine & D-Ribose
It is one of the best "totally natural" stacks that people can use. Creatine is a compound that's naturally made in our bodies to supply energy to our muscles. It is formed from the amino acids "Glycine-Methionine-Arginine." It is manufactured in the liver and it can also be produced in the pancreas and kidneys. Once creatine is bound to a phosphate group, it is permanently stored in a cell as phosphocreatine until it is used to produce chemical energy called adenosise triphosphate (ATP). Increased creatine levels in the muscle help optimize energy turnover so that you have more energy for high intensity exercise and faster recovery, during and after workouts.
Ribose, is a naturally occurring energy metabolite found in all cells of the body. It plays a vital role in myocardial and skeletal muscle metabolism through it's participation in the synthesis of ATP and other adenine nucleotides. Research indicates that supplementing with Ribose is an effective way to increase energy levels (ATP) within the muscle cell, enhance muscular performance, and aid in recovery after high intensity exercise.
Again for better results, it is wise to start first with just one supplement and then with the second. Of course one method says to take 20gr of Creatine every day, for the first 5 days, and from day 6 till the last day of your cycle to take 5gr. I have also recommended this method in one of my previous articles, but this way is not the only way.
Another method says to take 5gr of Creatine from the first till your last day of your cycle, and many people have also experienced good results by using it. But as always, I will go one step further of these two methods, and I will give a third (and probably the best) alternative. So here is what you should do, and remember again to take them at different times. After your 9th week, discontinue use for 4 weeks.
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Stack 3 - L-Glutamine & GABA
3) L-Glutamine and GABA
Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in our muscle tissue. Glutamine is a key factor in muscle growth. This means that the higher the muscle glutamine levels you can maintain, the less chance you have of falling into catabolism and the faster muscle will grow.
In one study on Glutamine, they found that a single 2gr oral dose of Glutamine, elevated circulating growth hormone levels by over 430%! Of course as I have said before, Glutamine is not toxic at all and it's one of the very very few supplements that you can take almost on a yearly basis. But if you want to "stack" it with GABA, is better to follow this cycle.
GABA is an important amino acid neurotransmitter in the brain. lt is involved in the regulation of brain's nerve cells and has been referred to as "the brain's natural calming agent." But this amino acid has shown also that it can elevate your hormone levels. ln one clinical study, it showed over a 5 1/2 fold increase in plasma growth hormones levels after GABA administration. So imagine what you can achieve if you take L-Glutamine and GABA at the same time! Let's see a good cycle that you can use here. Take L-Glutamine before you sleep, and GABA first thing in the morning for better results.
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Stack 4 - 19-Norandrostenediol, Creatine, And L-Glutamine
4) 19-Norandrostenediol, Creatine and L-Glutamine!
THE ULTIMATE STACK!
This "triple" stack, has all at the same time, testosterone (19-Norandrostenediol), and GH (L-Glutamine), as well as Creatine, which keeps your muscles filled with maximum capacity of fluid. Of course you might try putting Tribulus instead of 19-Norandrostenediol, or D-Ribose instead of Creatine, or GABA instead of L-Glutamine. (The combinations, as I said previously, can be many.) But whatever you decide to do, if you remember the right approach that you should use, (slightly up, and then slightly down), you won't fail with your cycle! And remember, competitive bodybuilders are using a testosterone+GH combo.
Of course with nutritional supplements you can not get the same results, but instead of your health getting worse year after year, it will get better and you will see major results in your body! So let's see the combination that I chose. Just remember that you should not take Creatine and Glutamine at exactly the same time because they depend on many of the same substrate carriers and co transporters. (That means when the two are competing with one another for the same carriers, one wins and one loses). Take them at least 2 hours apart.
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Trying Other Stacks
Also you can experiment for yourselves by using a Tribulus+L-Glutamine stack (testosterone+GH), or L-Glutamine+D-Ribose (GH+ATP increase), or 19-Norandrostenediol+Creatine (testosterone+ATP increase) ...the combinations are thousands! The point is to know how to apply the right principles. Take supplements that have been SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN that they really work.
Of course there are also some other supplements that work "synergistically" (meaning they promote each other's affects) such as Zinc+Magnesium, the famous ZMA, or the famous E/C/A stack (Ephedrine, Caffeine, Aspirin), but let's say that they are "stacked" by themselves from the manufacturers. Finally as I have said many times, you should always follow a "four-way" combination for better results. Always remember how important it is to: a) eat b) exercise c) recuperate and d) supplement properly. Each one of them are of equal importance, and if any one is missing, you might not achieve your personal goals.
This is the end of the first part of my series. I have made an innovation and I gave you a totally different approach to using your supplements, getting the best and most economical results. In my next article of this series, I will continue further and I will talk about the perfect stacking for fat-loss supplements. Many new things for you to learn, and many new ways to achieve your personal goals! Stay tuned!