Questions About Supplements?

[SVT Cobra]

After a recent post I made in a vitamin thread i have been getting a lot of PM's about different supplements and questions about them and I loved helping you guys out. There is nothing like when you first make the decsision to strive for bodily perfection or improvement ("perfection" is different for everyone depending on goals, sports, etc).

So anyway I thought I would post this thread so anyone that missed my other post in the middle of another thread can ask questions. It can be very confusing and overwhelming and when i first got into it I wish i had people that I could ask (bodybuilding.com is crap if you ask me, they try to make money with everything they do over there, not to mention posting conflicting articles and having a whole forum dedicated to people illegally doing steroids, I have been a member there for a while and I am very disapointed in some things over there)


Anyway if you have any questions feel free to ask, but first a little background info on myself:

I started about 8-9 years ago before my freshman year in high school for football, I had played pee wee five years before that (I played football all four years in High School and started my junior and senoir year at linebacker and my senoir year a guard) After high school I went to college with a focus on engineering and football while I still have the passion for it, the school I wanted to go to did not even have a division 3 team, no football at all

So then I began just lifting like I alwas have for football though, which is mostly powerlifting, Bench, Power Clean, Squat mainly

Currently my stats are:

I am 6'2 and 245lbs

Powerclean 440lb SL (strength level, NCAA regulation charts used)
Bench 375lb SL
Squat 565lb SL

Those stats are low for someone who lifted as long as I did, but i recieved an injury to my wrist and arm and was not able to do any sort of core lifting for almost two years.

Right now during the winter my training clycle is different then my spring and summer regimens, and my nutrition reflects it. But in general my nutrition plan is the same throughout the year (with changes here and there)

I will try to include reasons for each as I go through my schedule and if you have any questiosn about what a certain supplement is or what brand feel free to ask, but i will not include it here because this post would be 30 pages long lol, but if you have a specific question I have no problem explaing why i do/take a certain thing


I wake up, have a cup of coffee then wait 30 minutes
5g of Lglutamine
meal of cereal and a powerbar with a three pill multiviatamin(mostly of antioxidtans and enzymes with the other essentials), 1000mg of of C, and 1g of flax seed oil
5g of creatine half hour before lunch, meal
powerbar before lifting
lift
5g of creatine ethly ester
30 minutes later 30g protein, pure whey protein isolate
meal
small meal 3 hours later taken with 1000mg of C, 2g of flax seed oil, 1g of other mixed Omega3's with different fatty acids(linoleic oneleic etc)
Before bed 30g protein shake(with mixed amino acids), 5g of AKGglutamine, 1500mg of calcium, 750mg of Magnesium, 45mg of zinc
I lift Mon, Wed, Fri and run on Tues Thurs and Sat

on running days I do the same but also mix in a b complex with my afterrunning meal

my meals are usually high carb high fat high protein meals...usually pasta and chicken, homemade pizza, suasage casarole etc...but all healthy, no fast foods etc blachh, I also drink a ton of water, only ionized though (I have a water ionizer hooked up to my sink)...

because it is the winter I am going relatively light on this cycle...its mostly for gaining some more weight before I go into my more intense power lifting cycle in the spring and summer

I get my blood tested every 6 months or so by this local sports lab which is very effective at telling what minerals an micronutrients I may be deficient in, I highly recomend doing this!!!! they can tell you why you have been having knee and joint oian (copper deficent) or why you may be rolling around at night (magnesium deificent) its quite amazing

I also mix my creatine with double the amount of powder gatorade...glycogen loading before and after workouts is very effective

I do take other things like argenine and other minerals but these are not taken on a daily basis so i did not include them




That is to some extent my nutrition regiment and I follow it religiously lol (I haven't had ice cream in I do not know how many years), but just to make some tips that some newbies make:

STAY AWAY FROM GNC!! they are only out to make money and besides a few supplements that you can find elsewhere they are all crap, either gimics, overpriced crap that is not even pure (take into account their glutamine)

I usually buy all my things from DPSNutrition they are cheap and offer good shipping, if I am in a pinch I will make a run to the vitamin shope

Creatine does not need to be loaded, and also many take creatine with sucrose for nsulin spikes which is extremely stupid considering creatine is not absorbed straight into muscle cells by diffusion, it uses cell receptors that always function at the same rate, hence the always average ability to abosrb only 2.5g of creatine monohydrate or phosphogen(this changes with ethyl ester creatine)

If you are bulking this does not mean you can eat mcDonalds, bulking means upping your calories for more energy and ability to have calories left after lifting after burning them off. Fill you body with healthy foods and there is a lot to go into but the simplest way to explain it is if you have a brand new corvette, are you going to fill it with regular gasoline and then put a bunch of crappy additives in it, hell no!

Stay away from any supplements with epedra of caffeine. When your body makes energy it goes through the same cycle over and over again, it produces ATP and inflamation, the more rapid creation of energy (caused by simulants) creates even more inflamation, hence the crash you feel later with coffee, not to mention caffeien is a diuretic which means it pulls water from your muscles and dehydrates you, and your muscles are going to have to work harder to recover with more caffiene intake (and there are some studies that show caffiene prevents your muscles of reaping the benfits from it) You may ask why some bodybuilders(notice i said builders not lifters HUGE difference) use caffiene as asupplement in large doses. Well it is because they usually take some sort of pill, usually Supac which contains an enzyme that tricks your normal inflamatory enzyme in the Krebs cycle to make antiinflamatories.

Many people neglect carbohydrates when lifting and focus only on protein, number one you get your energy from the carbs to even be able to lift, but you also need simple carbs to carry the protein to the cells...there are certain ratios of carbs to proteins if you really wanted to eat to a science

I will add more to this when people ask me questions and I remember more of what I wanted to say. I mainly focused this sort of like a guide post on nutrition but any questions about the actual lifting are good to. Nutrition plans are going to be different for everyone, but you have to have a basic knowledge first before you can decide what is best for you

EDIT: Yes I should clarify by no means should you take all this stuff!! I just listed what I took so you could take ideas from here or there

 

[SVT Cobra]

if anyone else buys their supplements from other places online please share! I am always looking for the cheapest price

 

[Rudee]

Good stuff. I'm currently in a bulking phase trying to see if I can get to 260. About 238 right now. Only think I take is Optimum Nutrition whey protein 2x day plus 3 normal healthy meals. On weekends I let myself have whatever I want, but Mon-Fri I avoid junk food when all possible.

 

[darkxshade]

Very informative post, thanks... maybe you can help me out with what I'm trying to achieve.


Background:
Back in highschool(6 years ago) I would go to the gym after work every other day and do bench presses(Benched up to about 170) and get on the treadmill for about 30mins-1 hour. I'm not some hardcore lifter who takes supplements with my workout, I was just a teen who took interest in the exercise, didn't really had a goal, was just for fun. I only pretty much did 3 types of exercise because I enjoyed it, benching, bicep curls and this one where you sit upright and pushed bells up over your head and down to work on your shoulders(triceps I think). It was pretty much an hour on the weights and about 1 hour running. I also played softball on Saturdays and biked like 5-10 miles across the city on sundays. I've been doing the weekend stuff for 3 years but I only went to the gym for 1. I was pretty in shape, 5'8 @ 150lbs. Anyway once I got to college and moved into my dorm, it all went downhill, pretty much stopped doing all of it and now I'm working and sit my ass in front of a computer. I lost muscle mass and gained weight, I'm now 25, 5'8 and about 170-180. So anyway, I'm planning on getting back on a routine and this time I actually have some goals I wanna work towards, this is where you come in since you sound like you know what to do. I'm not planning on bulking up. Despite being overweight I don't look it since I got broad shoulders and an above avg frame due to all workout and activities I've done as a kid up till college and being a big fan of meat but I do have a belly now that I've slacked for 6 years. So here goes:

1. I hate(always have) working my abs, I pretty much only enjoy jogging as a means of burning calories. Would taking a run on a treadmill say 1 hour everyday trim it down? Or eating healthier? I haven't had McDicks for 2 years, BK for 3, Wendys for 1. As a matter of fact I've not really had much fast food nowadays, maybe once a month. I only drink water at home.

2. I do want to get back on weights too but don't really wanna increase muscle mass. Instead I'm looking to getting toned, back in HS days, my muscle got bigger but I didn't look "cut". I kinda wanna work towards that. What's your suggestion on the kind of reps I should do or other suggestions? Cuz I was told that the kind of reps you do is the factor to how your muscle builds, higher intensity fewer reps = mass, lower intensity more reps = tone, is this right?

3. And finally, supplements, I'm not a big fan of this stuff, I don't have the patience to stick on a regiment all day long. Is there a sort of 1 size fits all kind of supplement I can take daily instead of a "cocktail" where I'd have to take on intervals? About all I can possibly stand is to take something once in the morning and once when I get home after work. If there is such a solution, what supplement would your recommend and what its purpose is? The purpose of this supplement would be to help me control my weight, keep my nutrients up, keep me healthy... a multipupose suppliment if you will.

If you can set me up with some sort of easy to stick to routine, I'd greatly appreciate it. :beer:

 

[iwantanewcomputer]

hmmm, i wish i could just buy a giant tub of powder that i could make a shake out of like 6 times a day that would cover all my nutrition, protien, creatine. that would be a lot easier, and I would actually stick with it

in response to 3 above, almost all minerals, vitamins, carbs, proteins, etc. are absorbed more efficiently if taken at regular intervals in smaller doses throughout the day

 

[TraumaRN]

Your liver and kidneys called, they said to thank you for the stress

Eh I mean more power to you, just understand if any of you do something like the OP you NEED to stick to it(like him) or you could FUBAR your body real fast.....also OP I'm curious as to why you are taking mega doses of Magnesium, I know it's an important electrolyte and all but why more than twice the RDA.

Just as a curiousity what do they draw on these blood tests? Are they testing your BUN/Creatinine as well? And since you take such monster doses of magnesium do you make sure your heart is doin well too? since hypermagnesemia can cause some cardiac issues? Just some honest questions for you

 

[darkxshade]

Originally posted by: iwantanewcomputer
hmmm, i wish i could just buy a giant tub of powder that i could make a shake out of like 6 times a day that would cover all my nutrition, protien, creatine. that would be a lot easier, and I would actually stick with it

in response to 3 above, almost all minerals, vitamins, carbs, proteins, etc. are absorbed more efficiently if taken at regular intervals in smaller doses throughout the day

Like I said, I'm looking for a specific type of suppliment that satisfies all those. I wouldn't mind taking it in lesser intervals, I just dont' have the patience to keep stock on several kinds of supplements and take them all on intervals daily. I'm just that lazy. So the answer I'm looking for is a name of a brand and the name of the supplement.

 

[Dedpuhl]

It's not worth it to me to supplement to the extremes I've seen here. All I take is:

1. Multivitamin (low carb specific)

2. Flaxseed and Fish Oil pills

3. 4g Glutamine powder 1 hour before my workout.

I'm not interested in bulking up. I'm just trying to slim down so I look nice nekkid. So far, it's working.

 

[Coquito]

Both my little cousin & little brother started taking some form of creatine. One got talked into it by his father, while the other from some gnc saleshark. They've never really even tried working out before, & all of a sudden they feel they need this stuff to get big. I worry for their long term health. I can't convince these guys. They're old enough to make their own decisions, but I want to be able to deter them long enough so that their bodies mature enough. Any information I can pass along that could sway their opinions for a few years?

 

[TraumaRN]

Originally posted by: Coquito
Both my little cousin & little brother started taking some form of creatine. One got talked into it by his father, while the other from some gnc saleshark. They've never really even tried working out before, & all of a sudden they feel they need this stuff to get big. I worry for their long term health. I can't convince these guys. They're old enough to make their own decisions, but I want to be able to deter them long enough so that their bodies mature enough. Any information I can pass along that could sway their opinions for a few years?

Problem is little good research has been done on the issue and by good I mean people without an agenda, on one side you have people saying it's safer than aspirin(crappy example in my mind since aspirin isnt nearly as safe as people think) and on the other side people saying it causes every flipping bump bruise and sniffle...

Bottom line is this, it's a better idea to workout if you take creatine AND that like any medicine, supplement whatever....use with caution and keep in mind adverse effects may not manifest themselves to later on

 

[mrrman]

I just started on this program...I saw a flyer come in from GNC and wanted to check out the "definition package"

http://www.musclearmor.com/
I take this 30 min before and after a workout

http://register.eas.com/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?item=5646§ion=10027

I take Myoplex lite shakes inbetween meals if I am hungry

I also take 1 scoop of Whey 30 minutes after a workout
http://www.enutrition.com/eas10wh6lbch.html

I find all these products cheaper on Ebay...GNC is too much

as for exercise...I work out on my Bowflex 6 days a week, I play tennis, brown belt in karate and run off an on.

I also take a multivitamin each day...Mega Man vitamin from GNC
Just wanted to add that I am not into adding mass/bulk, just defining my body more

 

[ChiBOY83]

errr.... I must jump in and add a few notes here. For anyone reading this and thinking they need to take all that "stuff" to get big, you can now relax........ I only see regiments like that when individuals are doing advanced body building (i.e. doing body building competitions)... i have never seen "athlete" high school or college take supplements to that extreme....

Furthermore, i think it is more a hinderance to others to give people the details of such a HIGHLY tailored and refined and supplement regiment that is used by a small percentage of people who weight lift, making people think they need to take your laundry list of nutritional cocktail after cocktail to be able to bench 350+....

FOR THE MAJORITY of people weight lifting, protein supplements are the best bet in the beginning.... the only reason someone may want to eventually move beyond that is once they see a a plateau in results (strength or muscle mass)...until then you can do your internal organs a favor and let son of a noob be the creatine guinea pig

 

[Argo]

What's your experience with Esterized Creatine? I'm fairly big (195 lbs, 5'11", 10reps of 225lbs bench, 400+ squat) but I want to get more cut. I've heard ester creatine is perfect for that.

 

[50]

Hey, I've started working out in the past half year and have really seen some results. I am still an amateur but have been working pretty hard (2-3 times per week). I have only used Iso-pure protein with my workouts. This is okay for an amateur right? Basically I am just trying to bulk up and not really get cut. Friends of mine take glutamine and GAKIC during their workouts along with caffeine pills (I think this is insane and would never go that far). Any tips or suggestions? Basically I want to target my entire upper body for at least the next year (I want to be able to bench 200 by 2007).

 

[MikeMike]

i wish i could drive myself to do it, i have the frame and body to do it, but i cant push myself to keep up at it.

i think this semester i will begin swimming though to lose some of my fat.

6'3 185.

 

[SVT Cobra]

Originally posted by: darkxshade
Very informative post, thanks... maybe you can help me out with what I'm trying to achieve.


Background:
Back in highschool(6 years ago) I would go to the gym after work every other day and do bench presses(Benched up to about 170) and get on the treadmill for about 30mins-1 hour. I'm not some hardcore lifter who takes supplements with my workout, I was just a teen who took interest in the exercise, didn't really had a goal, was just for fun. I only pretty much did 3 types of exercise because I enjoyed it, benching, bicep curls and this one where you sit upright and pushed bells up over your head and down to work on your shoulders(triceps I think). It was pretty much an hour on the weights and about 1 hour running. I also played softball on Saturdays and biked like 5-10 miles across the city on sundays. I've been doing the weekend stuff for 3 years but I only went to the gym for 1. I was pretty in shape, 5'8 @ 150lbs. Anyway once I got to college and moved into my dorm, it all went downhill, pretty much stopped doing all of it and now I'm working and sit my ass in front of a computer. I lost muscle mass and gained weight, I'm now 25, 5'8 and about 170-180. So anyway, I'm planning on getting back on a routine and this time I actually have some goals I wanna work towards, this is where you come in since you sound like you know what to do. I'm not planning on bulking up. Despite being overweight I don't look it since I got broad shoulders and an above avg frame due to all workout and activities I've done as a kid up till college and being a big fan of meat but I do have a belly now that I've slacked for 6 years. So here goes:

1. I hate(always have) working my abs, I pretty much only enjoy jogging as a means of burning calories. Would taking a run on a treadmill say 1 hour everyday trim it down? Or eating healthier? I haven't had McDicks for 2 years, BK for 3, Wendys for 1. As a matter of fact I've not really had much fast food nowadays, maybe once a month. I only drink water at home.

2. I do want to get back on weights too but don't really wanna increase muscle mass. Instead I'm looking to getting toned, back in HS days, my muscle got bigger but I didn't look "cut". I kinda wanna work towards that. What's your suggestion on the kind of reps I should do or other suggestions? Cuz I was told that the kind of reps you do is the factor to how your muscle builds, higher intensity fewer reps = mass, lower intensity more reps = tone, is this right?

3. And finally, supplements, I'm not a big fan of this stuff, I don't have the patience to stick on a regiment all day long. Is there a sort of 1 size fits all kind of supplement I can take daily instead of a "cocktail" where I'd have to take on intervals? About all I can possibly stand is to take something once in the morning and once when I get home after work. If there is such a solution, what supplement would your recommend and what its purpose is? The purpose of this supplement would be to help me control my weight, keep my nutrients up, keep me healthy... a multipupose suppliment if you will.

If you can set me up with some sort of easy to stick to routine, I'd greatly appreciate it. :beer:

1. You still need to strenghten your abs, and generally crunches are the best way to do it, twice a week until you feel the burn is actually as some people are surprised is enough. Although as you know crunches will not give you a six pack, melting the fat off with cardio will. I do believe running is your best bet, jump roping is also a very very good (some say better then running) cardio activity that you can do indoors and will melt the fat off. Going along with your goal of trying to get toned i would suggest upping your dose of protein (pure whey is perfect, no need for sugary premixed stuff) and increase your daily uptake in fiber, try adding some high in fiber cereal to your breakfast. If possible try to do your cardio in the morning, without eating anything first. I should not here that this is only if you are doing light cardio (30-60 minutes) and should have included a dinner high in carbs the night before (the carbs will stay in your system for energy). Drink a protein shake when you wake up, do your cardio, and then eat right afterwards, your body processes fat better when after cardio so you will not only melt the fat quicker in the morning(when your body is best predisposed to burning fat) but you will not gain any weight afterwards. The advantage of also doing cardio in the morning is it wakes you up and gets the juices flowing and speeds up your matabolism for the rest of the day. Just get a good nights rest. If doing cardio in the morning is not possible just do not eat anything 3-4 hours before and drink a protein shake instead right before. The protein shake before cardio provides your body will a buffer against catabolism(the breaking down of protein) Make sure you drink a lot of water.

2. I would suggest doing your cardio at different times or even days then your weight lifting, because you are not trying for bulk or "bigness" I would suggest doing your cardio 3 times a week and your weightlifting 2 or 3(if you want to lift saturday) times a week, and take sunday off. Monday Wed and Fri you could do your cardio and tues and thurs day and possibly saturday(you could take that day off to) for lifting. Whatever fits your schedule best. Yes it is true to less the weight and the more reps the more it is for endurance. The more weight and less reps is for strength and inbetween is for power. One top is to definately stay away from machines, while they do provide some toning benefits they do not work your stabilizer muscles and joints which are very important, and often do not promote good form of isolating your specific body part you are trying to work. Stick with free weights, barbells and dumbells and try to have someone at the gym watch you for proper form and watch others for tips. I would do about 3 sets of 10 reps for each exercise and in no time you will see definition. Make sure to work your arms, chest, back AND LEGS! also you must do abs, even though you hate it is is necesary, how else are you going to tie in your leg strength with the rest of your body. For the types of exercises it is up to you and what you see better results with, just incorporate a broad range of lifts that you like doing (curls, presses, should presses, leg press, etc) and then after a month take out some exercises and add in new ones to shock your muscles and keep up the benefits. After a while your goals may change. But make sure to work the legs also as you neglected to do back in high school because you may be running, but not only does lifting wiehgts with your legs have benefits for running, it also will tone them in certain areas.

3. For nutrition a simple multivitamin with zinc(zinc for its anabolic nature and it it covers a wide range of health benefits from immune system to even respitory system new studies suggest), maybe even some seperate vitamin C (500 or 1000mg) because of its benefits you have heard of but also because C is a very good antioxidant that will help you recover from running quickly, in the morning with your breakfast will work (do not get anything from GNC megaman is extremely overpriced and not necesary for 99% of the people that take it) and some whey protein, you can even pick it up cheaply at Wal-Mart if you choose, they carry EAS whey which is a very respectable company. Take a shake before your cardio and on lifting days a shake right after your lift. And then if you want a shake right before bed (it promotes growth and also you would go during the day without protein so why would you go 6-8 hours at night without it?) In terms of supplements that all you really need. Until you goals change stick with low fat high carb and protein foods (chicken with pasta and a side of vegetables) and things like that, red meat once a week is fine, just make sure it is lean because of your goals)

Get into it slowly and I garuntee as soon as you get into it and fit it around a schedule that fits you best you will get addicted to it and will love the feeling of imprioving your body health and mind. Good luck m8! if you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask

 

[bonkers325]

i knew there was something strange about "ionized water"

 

[SVT Cobra]

Originally posted by: iwantanewcomputer
hmmm, i wish i could just buy a giant tub of powder that i could make a shake out of like 6 times a day that would cover all my nutrition, protien, creatine. that would be a lot easier, and I would actually stick with it

in response to 3 above, almost all minerals, vitamins, carbs, proteins, etc. are absorbed more efficiently if taken at regular intervals in smaller doses throughout the day

I am curious to what types of workouts you are doing, a simple multivitamin for most people with some protein is fine for light lifting etc. You do not need creatine it is just something that can bolster results. Unfortunately there is no magic powder and things are taken at different times to maximize their effects. Just eat healthy because if you are not tere is no amount of supplements that can make up for it

 

[SVT Cobra]

Originally posted by: DeathBUA
Your liver and kidneys called, they said to thank you for the stress

Eh I mean more power to you, just understand if any of you do something like the OP you NEED to stick to it(like him) or you could FUBAR your body real fast.....also OP I'm curious as to why you are taking mega doses of Magnesium, I know it's an important electrolyte and all but why more than twice the RDA.

Just as a curiousity what do they draw on these blood tests? Are they testing your BUN/Creatinine as well? And since you take such monster doses of magnesium do you make sure your heart is doin well too? since hypermagnesemia can cause some cardiac issues? Just some honest questions for you

Yes I do discuss everything with my doctor and everything and I get his advice before taking anything new. My amounts of Mg is not that hefty considering it is burned off very quickly doing the type of exercises I do. I will check into the cardiac issues you as you mentioned, but my doctor did say that he was not concerned about my cardiac health. thx for the tip.

 

[SVT Cobra]

Originally posted by: Coquito
Both my little cousin & little brother started taking some form of creatine. One got talked into it by his father, while the other from some gnc saleshark. They've never really even tried working out before, & all of a sudden they feel they need this stuff to get big. I worry for their long term health. I can't convince these guys. They're old enough to make their own decisions, but I want to be able to deter them long enough so that their bodies mature enough. Any information I can pass along that could sway their opinions for a few years?

how old are they? I would tell them that creatine is only going to work if they have the muscle mass to support it...I would show them the BS on the lables of stuff out there and make them read up on everything they take (by real people, not the stupid advertising sht they have on websites out there) For example, many people afer taking creatine want to try N02, or nitric oxide supplements which is a completel gimic and does nothing, while it can also be slightly unsafe. If they are sticking to just creatine i would not worry as I do believe it is fine when used properly. Make sure they drink a lot of water, creatine pulls water into the muscles and can dehydrate your organs, you might want to show them this article to scare them into drinking water, while this is mostly geared towards wrestling it does show the negative effects creatine can have when not taken properly link


Tell them that no amount of creatine will help them if they are not working as hard as they possibly can. Explain the importance of natural nutrition. try having them read this They should be working harder to get the effects of creatine, not working less and hoping the creatine to do it for them.

But if they are at a relatively young age do not let them go past creatine, because they have to understand the dangers of liver and kidney failure. But if they are doing it properly you have nothing to worry about

 

[SVT Cobra]

Originally posted by: ChiBOY83
errr.... I must jump in and add a few notes here. For anyone reading this and thinking they need to take all that "stuff" to get big, you can now relax........ I only see regiments like that when individuals are doing advanced body building (i.e. doing body building competitions)... i have never seen "athlete" high school or college take supplements to that extreme....

Furthermore, i think it is more a hinderance to others to give people the details of such a HIGHLY tailored and refined and supplement regiment that is used by a small percentage of people who weight lift, making people think they need to take your laundry list of nutritional cocktail after cocktail to be able to bench 350+....

FOR THE MAJORITY of people weight lifting, protein supplements are the best bet in the beginning.... the only reason someone may want to eventually move beyond that is once they see a a plateau in results (strength or muscle mass)...until then you can do your internal organs a favor and let son of a noob be the creatine guinea pig

chiboy, stop trolling, while what you said is somewhat true, I do not believe anyone should be taking advice from an idiot who faked a relative's death to get out doing a school project :disgust::thumbsdown:

 

[SVT Cobra]

Originally posted by: Argo
What's your experience with Esterized Creatine? I'm fairly big (195 lbs, 5'11", 10reps of 225lbs bench, 400+ squat) but I want to get more cut. I've heard ester creatine is perfect for that.

My experience with CEE has been great, I do not get any bloading effects I got with monohydrate, and I believe the abosorbtion is much better! While monohydrate has to rely on absorbtion based with water, CEE has an ester fatty acid attached allowing the creatine to use lipid pathways into the cell mebrane. I would suggest BSN's CellMass, IMO it is the best CEE that is out there and that is what I use. it is a bit expensive so if you do not feel like spending the money a cheaper CEE will also be fine. Even monohydrate from wal-mart will work if you can not afford more designer creatine. EAS and bodyfortress are featured at wal-mart and I have used both in the past and can atest to the fact they work just fine.

What type of lifting are you doing and what effects are you looking for? if it is mostly lifting for a sport or indurance I would suggest taking the creatine once a day 30 minutes before your workout (to reap the extra endurance benefits), and a later dose 4-6 hours later is optional...if it is for strength I would suggest taking it 4-6 hours before your workout and then a dose right after.

GL with your supplementation of creatine, I am sure you will probably be happy with it. Most of those rumors out there about the "horrible" effects of creatine are just that, rumors. Mostly made by people who are jealous that they cannot take it, or are uneducated about it an compare it to steroids almost.

 

[SVT Cobra]

Originally posted by: bonkers325
i knew there was something strange about "ionized water"

I find that article highly baised and untrue lacking links to many studies conducted that shows ionized water can help in certain body functions that they negate to even mention including recent studies that show the ionized water (done by an expensive unit, that actually ionizs that water not cheap gimics) can help the aborbtion of minerals because they can be dissolved better

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: Son of a N00b

Originally posted by: Argo
What's your experience with Esterized Creatine? I'm fairly big (195 lbs, 5'11", 10reps of 225lbs bench, 400+ squat) but I want to get more cut. I've heard ester creatine is perfect for that.

My experience with CEE has been great, I do not get any bloading effects I got with monohydrate, and I believe the abosorbtion is much better! While monohydrate has to rely on absorbtion based with water, CEE has an ester fatty acid attached allowing the creatine to use lipid pathways into the cell mebrane. I would suggest BSN's CellMass, IMO it is the best CEE that is out there and that is what I use. it is a bit expensive so if you do not feel like spending the money a cheaper CEE will also be fine. Even monohydrate from wal-mart will work if you can not afford more designer creatine. EAS and bodyfortress are featured at wal-mart and I have used both in the past and can atest to the fact they work just fine.

What type of lifting are you doing and what effects are you looking for? if it is mostly lifting for a sport or indurance I would suggest taking the creatine once a day 30 minutes before your workout (to reap the extra endurance benefits), and a later dose 4-6 hours later is optional...if it is for strength I would suggest taking it 4-6 hours before your workout and then a dose right after.

GL with your supplementation of creatine, I am sure you will probably be happy with it. Most of those rumors out there about the "horrible" effects of creatine are just that, rumors. Mostly made by people who are jealous that they cannot take it, or are uneducated about it an compare it to steroids almost.

Excuse my ignorance but I thought Creatine helped you recover faster so you can work out harder. How does taking it 4 to 6 ours in advance help you with strength? I've been doing the first routine with Creatine Monohydrate and have experience significant gains in strength, endurance and physique.

 

[SVT Cobra]

Originally posted by: 50
Hey, I've started working out in the past half year and have really seen some results. I am still an amateur but have been working pretty hard (2-3 times per week). I have only used Iso-pure protein with my workouts. This is okay for an amateur right? Basically I am just trying to bulk up and not really get cut. Friends of mine take glutamine and GAKIC during their workouts along with caffeine pills (I think this is insane and would never go that far). Any tips or suggestions? Basically I want to target my entire upper body for at least the next year (I want to be able to bench 200 by 2007).

get your freinds off the caffeien now, they are extrmely stupid to be taking caffeien as a supplement, not only are they canceling out the creatine by taking caffiene, only advanced pro body builders should be taking caffeiene in a supplement amount, and those body builders are those that go days at a time without eating, drinking etc, because their goals are only to bring out their msucles not gain while competitions.

yes you are fine, and are definately going down the right path, eat right and get plenty of rest (you do not grow while lifting, you grow and get better while you are sleeping)

Glutamine is a good supplement you can take if you would like (Lglutamine is actually in some whey products already) it is a free range amino acid that amounts ofr almost 60% of the amino acids in your body. Some call it creatine's "sexy sister" as it does have great benefits in helping speed up recovery and growth of skeletal muscle (just do not take creatine and glutamine together or within 2 hours of eachother as they use the same receptors to get into your muscle cells for the purpose of muscle growth and would end up competing with eachother).

EDIT: I would recomend that you read into creatine and decide if it is for you or not, it can help your bench goal dramtically. but it is for you to decide if you want to take it, i can only help with information about it. Just make sure you only bench 2 times a week at most so you do not overtrain. many make the mistake of benching everytime they workout which is very detrimental to there lift and can actually make them stuck in a rut at the same weight or even decrease there weight because they do not allow heir muscles to recover and have enough time to achieve all the growth they can get

I would also shock your muscles every once in a while when you do get stuck at the same weight by doing towel benches(so you work your threshhold point) and also do it with dumb bells to work stabilizers. it is a good way to get the weight going up again. Also make sure that you work the negative aspect of the lift (going down) and exploding up as much as you can. sometimes doing less weight and more reps while going down very slowly will help shock your muscles and produce more growth. Try what works best for you and the best of luck to getting your goal!

But remember bench is not everything, do not neglect working out other parts of your body