Note: This is part one, click here for part two!
In my first article, I talked about the importance of
the right nutrition and the right sleep in order to
have more productive workouts every time you hit the
gym. Today I will talk the importance of
supplements.
Many people have argued with me about if a bodybuilder
that does not want to compete, should he use supplements
or not. Most of them believe that a natural
bodybuilder should never use any kind of supplement,
and the only supplements that they can use are through
food and natural fruit juices. But if you want to be a
better bodybuilder you can not count only on them.
The reasons are many, but let me just report a few of
them.
- When you are exercising intensely (since every
bodybuilding workout is very intense), you can not get
better using only food. When you are taking care of
the nutrition and dieting almost on a yearly basis,
you can not get all the proper vitamins and minerals
and amino acids that you need only through food.
- Since a bodybuilder should eat 5-6 good nutritional
meals every day, he/she can not eat the
usual (and to be honest, sometimes boring),
"bodybuilding foods" everyday. Meal replacement powders(MRP's) have
their place here.
- Most of us are not living in a healthy environment.
Air and water pollution have increased as much as 20
times what it used to be, and unfortunately that means we have
increased
the pollution load on the human system by enormous amounts. Only if we take anti-
oxidant components (in much bigger amounts than the
RDA recommends), we can help ourselves to reduce the
free radicals that are so hazardous to our
bodies since they do oxidative damage to cells.
Of course there are hundreds of different supplements on
the market today that more or less enhance
performance. It would be quite impossible to
analyze all of them, even though this will be a
"two-part" article. I will talk only about the
best ones this week, and the very good ones in next
week.
Also, since most bodybuilders that want to train
naturally can not afford a fortune every month in
order to get the "perfect" supplementation, I will
report only for the supplements that can help you be
much better, without paying "an arm and a leg".
The Supplements
Multivitamin / Mineral Formulas - Learn More
Many people underestimate the importance of them. They
think that since you can not get 10 pounds of muscle, it is
useless to take them. But here is something very
important.
If your body is deficient in just one of the essential
vitamins and minerals over a thousand chemical and
enzymatic processes in your body could be impaired.
Each and every vitamin and mineral is responsible for
thousands of biochemical reactions, including the
formation of hormones.
Bottom line? If you don't use a good multivitamin and
mineral formula you will never reach your fullest
potential.
Extra Anti-Oxidants - Learn More
As I said before, using a good multivitamin/formula can
help you to reach your fullest potential. But
unfortunately, in order to give your body the extra
anti-oxidant protection, you need an even bigger
consumption of 4 basic vitamins, and 1 mineral. Again it is
impossible
to get the right amount that you need,
even if you eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day.
I will analyze each one of them very briefly and remember
that maybe they work better in bigger quantities but
always avoid mega doses.
Also it's very important that many scientific studies
of these vitamins, have shown possible anti-cancerous
activities.
- Vitamin C
It maintains connective tissue, including tendons,
ligaments, bones, joints and skin, and its "famous"
for its antioxidant activities.
Recommended dosage: 500mg-1gr per day.
- Vitamin E
It protects cell membranes from free radical damage.
Exercise increases the need for antioxidants.
Recommended dosage: 400-800 IU per day
- Carotenoids (Like Beta-Carotene and Lycopene)
In order to maintain and protect your skin and your
vision, you need them.
Recommended dosage: 25,000mcg per day.
- Folic Acid
It's the most common vitamin deficiency in the world.
This vitamin is very important because it works as an
"oxygen carriage", in your body.
Recommended dosage: 600mcg-800mcg per day.
- Selenium
It plays a crucial role in helping to maintain
adequate activity of the anti-oxidant enzyme
"glutathione peroxidase", which is the most powerful
endogenously produced anti-oxidant in the bloodstream.
Recommended dosage: 150mcg-200mcg per day.
When should you take multivitamin/minerals and extra
antioxidants? Simply take your multivitamin/mineral
formula first thing in the morning, and IMMEDIATELY
after your weight training, take one
multivitamin/mineral plus your extra antioxidants.
On the days you don't train, take only one serving of
vitamin/mineral formula in the morning, and in
the afternoon take your antioxidant protection.
Creatine - Learn More
For many people this is the number one supplement
and thats due to its quick-resulting size and strength
gains. Many people that have used creatine for the first
time have experienced 10 pounds in only one week,
having at the same time noticably larger muscles. And
one very good "plus" of creatine, is that it is very
safe. (If you don't have of course any pre-existing problem
with your liver or kidneys).
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.
The richest source of creatine is meat, but
unfortunately you have to consume more than 10 pounds
of red meat per day in order to get just 4-5 gr of
creatine. Since that is impossible you have to take
creatine through supplements.
There are many different types of creatine available on the
market. There is Powdered Creatine, Micronized powdered,
Creatine Plus Potentiators (ie with dextrose),
Effervescent Creatine, and Creatine available in capsules,
tablets, liquid, or chewable.
Also there are other different forms of creatine, such
as Creatine Phopsphate, Creatine Citrate, and
new Creatine Pyruvate, but personally I believe the
best form is Creatine Monohydrate.
Finally, remember that creatine belongs to the
supplements that you should be cycled on a yearly basis because it
requires
your liver and kidneys to work at their highest level.
The safest way to use it is to have a cycle of eight weeks of using
it,
followed by four weeks off.
Recommended dosage:
For the first 5 days, take 20gr
seperated by 4 equal doses of 5gr each (Pre loading
phase). The best times are
a)when you wake up b)30 min
before your lunch c)after your training, and d)before you go to sleep.
One important note: On the first 5 days that you don't train, take one 5gr dose at the time you wake
up, and after that, every 4 hours (having always the
last dose before you go to sleep).
From the sixth until your last day, start using only
5gr every day. (Maintenance phase).
Always take 5gr IMMEDIATELY after your training, and
at the days you don't train take 2.5gr (half a tea
spoon), when you wake up, and another 2.5gr before you
go to sleep. (If you don't take at the same time L-Glutamine, or
if you do, take your last Creatine dosage before your dinner). Click here to learn more about Creatine.
L-Glutamine - Learn More
Also a very "famous" supplement. It's the most abundant
amino acid in our muscle tissue. It comprises 61% of
the amino acid pool in skeletal muscle.
Glutamine alone is responsible for 35% of the
nitrogen that gets into the muscle cell. Glutamine
drives muscle building nitrogen into the muscle cell
where it is synthesized for growth. Glutamine is a key
factor in muscle growth, and controlling the skeletal
muscle/whole body glutamine gradient is critical in
maintaining and building muscle tissue. The higher the
muscle glutamine levels you can maintain, the less
chance you have of falling into catabolism and the
faster muscle will grow. And last but not least, it is
very important for immune function.
As you understand, Glutamine is a very important
"cutting-edge" supplement. Many scientific studies
have said that it works. So in order to become better
(bigger), you should use supplementary L-Glutamine.
The best part about Glutamine, is that it is not toxic
at all, even in high consumption. Also you don't have
to cycle it.
Everything looks fine for Glutamine consumption, but
you have to take care something. Glutamine will not
work good at all if you take it at the same time
when you are going through your Creatine cycle. I will
explain why.
Creatine and Glutamine depend on many of the same
substrate carriers and cotransporters. When the two
are competing with one another for the same carriers,
one wins and one loses. Let's say for example you have
a molecule of sodium (sodium is a carrier for both
glutamine and creatine) available to carry a molecule
of creatine or glutamine into the muscle cell. Well
it's only going to attach to one of them. It's not
going to carry both. Therefore one is out of luck and
thus will perform some other possibly mundane task or
just get excreted as waste.
Recommended dosages:
So having always in mind that you
should take Glutamine at different times of
Creatine (2 hours distance is fine), 5-10gr per day
seems to work very good for many people. Of course you
might hear that you need much bigger dosages but l
think after some point, whatever you take (l am not
talking only about L-Glutamine), is counterproductive.
The best times of the day to take it, are 5gr just before
you go to sleep, and again 5gr before your training (optionally). Click here to learn more about Glutamine.
MRP's (Meal Replacements) - Learn More
As I said in my previous article, only protein can
build muscle. But you should eat the right food in
order to get the amount of the protein you need,
otherwise if you eat a high protein meal, but it
has also many calories from fat it is counterproductive.
Of course there are foods that are high in protein and
low in fat, such as chicken and turkey breasts, tuna,
or extra lean beef. But how many meals of them you can
eat every day without getting bored? One? Two? Three?
Maybe even four? The point is that you should eat at
least 5-6 good nutritional meals every day. And also:
- You need some taste in our foods
- You can not spend all day in the kitchen in order to prepare your meals and
- It's not easy at all to carry tapers all day at work
or in high school/college in order to eat what you
want and to avoid junk food.
And if some of you are
saying that they won't eat junk food and they wait
till they go home to eat, don't forget that
since it's very good to eat every 2-3 hours every day
in order to keep your insulin levels in positive
nitrogen balance, and to increase your muscle mass, it
would be very counterproductive if you ate nothing and
just wait after breakfast to eat again after 7-8
hours.
That's where MRP's take place. Most of them
taste delicious,and have no fat. They provide
100% of the necessary vitamins, minerals and amino
acids that your bodies need, they have very low
cholesterol, and they are very convenient since you
can take them anywhere. Also at the crucial point after
your weight training,
they are better than regular food
since they are getting absorbed and digested in your
bodies faster. (Having as a pioneer the whey protein
powder).
Recommended dosage:
The recommended dosage depends of many parameters such
as what kind of protein powder you use (how big of a
concentration the protein contains), what is your
primary purpose (get bigger, or leaner), and how many
grams of protein you are consuming with the other regular meals of the
day.
I won't talk about quantities but about servings.
So the best time to take your MRP's (except when you
are out of your house and you can not have anything
better to eat), is IMMEDIATELY after your weight
training, and before you go to sleep.
And about with what to mix: either with water, milk
or fruit juice.
This was the first part of my article and you learned
what are the BEST supplements with what dosages and
when you should take them in order to help you
increase your performance and your muscle mass.
In my next week's article you will read the second
part, about other important supplements that can help
you be a better bodybuilder.
giannis@bodybuilders.com
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