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The Supplements For Begginers Flow Chart

S

SVT Cobra

Lifer
I made this because I see a lot of new posters getting things like NO-Xplode thinking it will get them huge, when they do not even have the basics. This is also for those wanting to break into the world of supplements yet are overwhelmed. So I decided to make this to help newbies understand the importance of each supplement and get the basics down. I do not think I left anything out.

For those who are beginners and reading this chart, make sure to research each area, as this is just to get you going in the right direction. The brands that are there are the most popular, and for brands not listed you need to read about and see if they are right for you.

Remember, don't even bother with supplements unless your diet and training is in check, as they will NOT help at all if it is not.


Flow Chart

Hope that helps. 🙂
 
Thanks, SVT Cobra. I currently use whey protein, with creatine and glutamine powders mixed in. Fish oil's out for me (gave me horrible indigestion problems the last time I tried it), but I do a can of water-packed tuna pretty close to every day (killer mid-morning mini meal, imho), and I try to keep as much salmon as possible in my diet (great on top of a spinach salad).

I'm also trying to lose fat, so do 2g of CLA at least twice a day (breakfast & dinner), and L-lysine at the same time + before workouts. I try to remember to take green tea extract between meals, but usually space it off and forget. :roll:

Other than that, a multivitamin/multi-mineral in the morning and a calcium supplement (600mg) at dinner (used to do 2x a day, but scaled back when I started doing more whey protein, which I mix with fat free milk).

Given that, any other suggestions?
 
Originally posted by: marvdmartian
Thanks, SVT Cobra. I currently use whey protein, with creatine and glutamine powders mixed in. Fish oil's out for me (gave me horrible indigestion problems the last time I tried it), but I do a can of water-packed tuna pretty close to every day (killer mid-morning mini meal, imho), and I try to keep as much salmon as possible in my diet (great on top of a spinach salad).

I'm also trying to lose fat, so do 2g of CLA at least twice a day (breakfast & dinner), and L-lysine at the same time + before workouts. I try to remember to take green tea extract between meals, but usually space it off and forget. :roll:

Other than that, a multivitamin/multi-mineral in the morning and a calcium supplement (600mg) at dinner (used to do 2x a day, but scaled back when I started doing more whey protein, which I mix with fat free milk).

Given that, any other suggestions?
Click to expand...

Seems good. Only things I would recommend:

1. You can probably ditch the CLA, most will agree it does not do anything.
2. Watch your tuna intake, as the rise of mercury levels in a male body can be detrimental. I've had doctors tell me only 1 can a month, but going on basic knowledge and my own blood tests I'd say 2-3 cans a week is fine. You can instead get your essential fatty acids and omegas from nuts. Plain unsalted are very healthy for you.
3. I like glutamine, but unless you are mega dosing it you will probably not see an increase in recovery time, although it does have immune system benefits, and with it being winter and all, it is up to you.
4. As for losing fat, it all begins with diet, the supplements just enhance it. If you need any help with what to eat let me know I can help you out and point you in the right direction. Special K is also very good a nutrition plans.
 
Originally posted by: SVT Cobra

2. Watch your tuna intake, as the rise of mercury levels in a male body can be detrimental. I've had doctors tell me only 1 can a month, but going on basic knowledge and my own blood tests I'd say 2-3 cans a week is fine. You can instead get your essential fatty acids and omegas from nuts. Plain unsalted are very healthy for you.
Click to expand...
Is it really that serious? I've been eating a can almost every day for the past few months.

 
Originally posted by: Cerpin Taxt
Originally posted by: SVT Cobra

2. Watch your tuna intake, as the rise of mercury levels in a male body can be detrimental. I've had doctors tell me only 1 can a month, but going on basic knowledge and my own blood tests I'd say 2-3 cans a week is fine. You can instead get your essential fatty acids and omegas from nuts. Plain unsalted are very healthy for you.
Click to expand...
Is it really that serious? I've been eating a can almost every day for the past few months.
Click to expand...

Like I said you are probably fine, but in the long run mercury can poison you have slowly have adverse effects that you may not notice because of their slow onset. Just keep an eye out for side effects.

Some who want the ultimate performance out of their body, have even had their old mercury fillings removed.


But yes I am serious.
 
This should be stickied, or merged into an as-of-yet unwritten "Getting Started" type thread and then stickied.

Though you might want to look into Glutamine more. I know some people swear by it, but there is a LOT of research that shows it having no effect on performance, and mostly only being beneficial in helping repair damaged stomach tissue.

Edit: Maybe this could be merged into the Steroid thread?
 
While I agree that some information is vital, I think that 'stickies' are one of the downfalls of a lot of fitness forums, because eventually every single post becomes 'use the search function' or 'check the stickies' and no one really helps anyone.
 
Originally posted by: Maleficus
While I agree that some information is vital, I think that 'stickies' are one of the downfalls of a lot of fitness forums, because eventually every single post becomes 'use the search function' or 'check the stickies' and no one really helps anyone.
Click to expand...

Yep, most posts need to be tailored to individuals needs. That and I want as many posts as possible, so this forum becomes permanent! 😉
 
..I take my fishoil caps berore I run. Also take a full spectrum vit.E cap along with soya lecithin cap with the fishoil.
 
Originally posted by: SVT Cobra
Originally posted by: Cerpin Taxt
Originally posted by: SVT Cobra

2. Watch your tuna intake, as the rise of mercury levels in a male body can be detrimental. I've had doctors tell me only 1 can a month, but going on basic knowledge and my own blood tests I'd say 2-3 cans a week is fine. You can instead get your essential fatty acids and omegas from nuts. Plain unsalted are very healthy for you.
Click to expand...
Is it really that serious? I've been eating a can almost every day for the past few months.
Click to expand...

Like I said you are probably fine, but in the long run mercury can poison you have slowly have adverse effects that you may not notice because of their slow onset. Just keep an eye out for side effects.

Some who want the ultimate performance out of their body, have even had their old mercury fillings removed.


But yes I am serious.
Click to expand...

From what I've read it's all about getting your body used to it. If you go from no-tuna diet to 5 cans of a tuna week right away, probably not a good idea. You want to build up to whatever your target to consume is, so start with one can week for a month, move two, etc. Either that or maybe I will turn into a thermometer one day...

Also, when would one decide they should use creatine? I've never bothered with it before and don't seem to affected by it.
 
Originally posted by: Pugnax
Originally posted by: SVT Cobra
Originally posted by: Cerpin Taxt
Originally posted by: SVT Cobra

2. Watch your tuna intake, as the rise of mercury levels in a male body can be detrimental. I've had doctors tell me only 1 can a month, but going on basic knowledge and my own blood tests I'd say 2-3 cans a week is fine. You can instead get your essential fatty acids and omegas from nuts. Plain unsalted are very healthy for you.
Click to expand...
Is it really that serious? I've been eating a can almost every day for the past few months.
Click to expand...

Like I said you are probably fine, but in the long run mercury can poison you have slowly have adverse effects that you may not notice because of their slow onset. Just keep an eye out for side effects.

Some who want the ultimate performance out of their body, have even had their old mercury fillings removed.


But yes I am serious.
Click to expand...

From what I've read it's all about getting your body used to it. If you go from no-tuna diet to 5 cans of a tuna week right away, probably not a good idea. You want to build up to whatever your target to consume is, so start with one can week for a month, move two, etc. Either that or maybe I will turn into a thermometer one day...

Also, when would one decide they should use creatine? I've never bothered with it before and don't seem to affected by it.
Click to expand...

Whenever you want. Creatine is as natural as you can get supplement wise pretty much so go ahead and use it post workout everyday when you want to.
 
Originally posted by: SVT Cobra
Originally posted by: Pugnax
Originally posted by: SVT Cobra
Originally posted by: Cerpin Taxt
Originally posted by: SVT Cobra

2. Watch your tuna intake, as the rise of mercury levels in a male body can be detrimental. I've had doctors tell me only 1 can a month, but going on basic knowledge and my own blood tests I'd say 2-3 cans a week is fine. You can instead get your essential fatty acids and omegas from nuts. Plain unsalted are very healthy for you.
Click to expand...
Is it really that serious? I've been eating a can almost every day for the past few months.
Click to expand...

Like I said you are probably fine, but in the long run mercury can poison you have slowly have adverse effects that you may not notice because of their slow onset. Just keep an eye out for side effects.

Some who want the ultimate performance out of their body, have even had their old mercury fillings removed.


But yes I am serious.
Click to expand...

From what I've read it's all about getting your body used to it. If you go from no-tuna diet to 5 cans of a tuna week right away, probably not a good idea. You want to build up to whatever your target to consume is, so start with one can week for a month, move two, etc. Either that or maybe I will turn into a thermometer one day...

Also, when would one decide they should use creatine? I've never bothered with it before and don't seem to affected by it.
Click to expand...

Whenever you want. Creatine is as natural as you can get supplement wise pretty much so go ahead and use it post workout everyday when you want to.
Click to expand...

First of all, a big thank you to Cobra for putting this flow chart together. It's definitely a helpful tool for people who are new to certain fields of fitness.

My question is: what are the benefits of creatine and how much would the cheapest, decent quality creatine cost? I'm a college student and right now I'm doing the Max-OT routine to gain a bit of mass (140 pounds to 150-155), so price has some say in if I'm going to use it or not. I've had some decent gains without it (I'm at 146 now, while being 1/3 of the way done with the 12-week program) and my strength has increased a good amount. I would just like to know what kind of gains I should anticipate if I did start using creatine.
 
Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
Originally posted by: SVT Cobra
Originally posted by: Pugnax
Originally posted by: SVT Cobra
Originally posted by: Cerpin Taxt
Originally posted by: SVT Cobra

2. Watch your tuna intake, as the rise of mercury levels in a male body can be detrimental. I've had doctors tell me only 1 can a month, but going on basic knowledge and my own blood tests I'd say 2-3 cans a week is fine. You can instead get your essential fatty acids and omegas from nuts. Plain unsalted are very healthy for you.
Click to expand...
Is it really that serious? I've been eating a can almost every day for the past few months.
Click to expand...

Like I said you are probably fine, but in the long run mercury can poison you have slowly have adverse effects that you may not notice because of their slow onset. Just keep an eye out for side effects.

Some who want the ultimate performance out of their body, have even had their old mercury fillings removed.


But yes I am serious.
Click to expand...

From what I've read it's all about getting your body used to it. If you go from no-tuna diet to 5 cans of a tuna week right away, probably not a good idea. You want to build up to whatever your target to consume is, so start with one can week for a month, move two, etc. Either that or maybe I will turn into a thermometer one day...

Also, when would one decide they should use creatine? I've never bothered with it before and don't seem to affected by it.
Click to expand...

Whenever you want. Creatine is as natural as you can get supplement wise pretty much so go ahead and use it post workout everyday when you want to.
Click to expand...

First of all, a big thank you to Cobra for putting this flow chart together. It's definitely a helpful tool for people who are new to certain fields of fitness.

My question is: what are the benefits of creatine and how much would the cheapest, decent quality creatine cost? I'm a college student and right now I'm doing the Max-OT routine to gain a bit of mass (140 pounds to 150-155), so price has some say in if I'm going to use it or not. I've had some decent gains without it (I'm at 146 now, while being 1/3 of the way done with the 12-week program) and my strength has increased a good amount. I would just like to know what kind of gains I should anticipate if I did start using creatine.
Click to expand...

You would definitely see an increase in strength and size, especially for the workout you are doing, and it would make that workout easier. You can buy bulk monohydrate (all you need) for 20$ that should last you around two months. If you want to buy it online look into Primaforce Bulk Mono Hydrate, or Higher Power Monohydrate on bb.com
 
Originally posted by: SVT Cobra
I made this because I see a lot of new posters getting things like NO-Xplode thinking it will get them huge, when they do not even have the basics. This is also for those wanting to break into the world of supplements yet are overwhelmed. So I decided to make this to help newbies understand the importance of each supplement and get the basics down. I do not think I left anything out.

For those who are beginners and reading this chart, make sure to research each area, as this is just to get you going in the right direction. The brands that are there are the most popular, and for brands not listed you need to read about and see if they are right for you.

Remember, don't even bother with supplements unless your diet and training is in check, as they will NOT help at all if it is not.


Flow Chart

Hope that helps. 🙂
Click to expand...

Following your chart, I have whey protein, so I'm covered there. For the Animal Paks, would they take the place of creatine, or would that still be something separate to add in?
 
I ended up going with two Animal paks, the Universal & the Pump. Do those along with some whey protein should give me a good start.
 
SVT is there an advantage of choosing one protein source powder over another- say egg white or soy as opposed to whey?
 
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