Supplements

[tractor]

How many do you take and what results have you seen? I'm kind of obsessed with researching them and am looking for some different suggestions. I like gnc and take their amplified creatine daily along with the amp protein powder. I've been on the protein powder for about six months, and wonder if it's time to switch out to something else. Any suggestions? I'm 41 and hit the weights heavy about three times a week, I've been pretty happy with the results, but my weight has plateaued out at 185 and I'd really like to get to 200.

[DebMD (banned)]

What My Body Needs...

Vitamins and Supplements

Aspirin- 325 mg
Vit D- 1,000 mg
Vit E- 1,000 mg
Vit C- 1,000 mg
Calcium- 1,200 mg
Omega-3- 1,000 mg
Flaxseed -1,000 mg
Chromium- 200 mg
Glucosamine- 1,500 mg
Chondroitin- 1,200 mg
DHEA- 50 mg
CoQ10- 400 mg
+/- Creatine- 3 gms

01/13/11

These are what I take

[DebMD (banned)]

I use GNC also.

Sounds like you want more muscle mass.

What's your workout and nutrition?

Is your strength good?....What goals do you have for this?

Deadlift 1.5x your body weight?
Bench press your body weight?

[DebMD (banned)]

How tall are you that you want to weigh 200 lbs?

[Artemis Windsong]

Puritan.com might save you some cash.

[tractor]

I'll try to address some of your questions. I am 5'8" tall, but yes I do want to add more muscle mass. I used to lift back when I was in college, but I took 15 years off and got back into it last March. My present weight is 185lbs, I bench four sets of 8 a 225 lbs, and maxed at 285 a few weeks ago. My squats are about the same, I haven't done a max squat in about three months.

I usually work each body part once a week, with three to four exercises trying to target different major and minor muscle groups.

I haven't tried deadlifting for many years. Just for fun someone had 315 on the bar this morning and I was able to pick it up, but I didn't add any more (I was working arms and back today).

I don't watch my diet all that well. I eat at least two apples a day, a bowl of grapenuts in the morning, and a couple of protein bars along with the protein shake. Lunch is usually some kind of meat.

I really don't have any competitive goals, for some unexplained reason, I would like to reach 200 lbs. I've been on the small side my whole life, but on a percentage basis, I've always been able to move quite a bit of weight (best bench when I was 25 was 340lbs). I guess I would like to increase mass, then start to lean out by working in more cardio. I have stayed away from cardio so far because I don't want to loose too much weight and try to rest my muscles to encourage growth.

I don't take any multi-vitamins, do you think that would help?

[Frappuccino]

I take a multi vitamin and 1000mg of fish oil. I will eventually buy a calcium/vitamin D and Coconut Oil supplement also. I recently heard that coconut oil helps with weight loss. We shall see

[kadee]

We take "good" multivitamins.
DH takes fish oil & I take calcium/magnesium/zinc as well as vit. E.
The c/m/z + e keep the night leg cramps at bay!!!!

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

Do gummi vitamins count as "good" multivitamins? (That's what I take!)

[The J]

Yes. My sister uses them since she can't swallow pills.

[RoadToRiches]

tractor...GNC is usually overpriced.

I would recommend this stack:

Pre workout - SuperPump Max
Intra Workout - Gaspari SizeOn
Post Workout - Gaspari Myofusion

[pig]

LOL one of the most interesting and confusing topics. There is so much misinformation and out right lying in almost all areas of supplement advertising.

Just a caveat about some of the things mentioned. Deb is trying to kill someone with that wacked out regiment. DHEA has been shown to do absolutely nothing for building muscles and in fact should NEVER be taken unless your deficient as it's solidly linked to prostate enlargement. Also, the aspirin is a no no unless you're prescribed it for a heart condition. Aspirin is absolutely linked to bleeding of the stomach and more people die from aspirin than many diseases. Not only is her dosage extremely high it's uneccesary.

"The first report in the Annals of Internal Medicine looked at almost 15,600 adults at risk of cardiovascular events who were taking various aspirin doses daily.It found that lower doses of the medication -- between 75 and 81 milligrams -- were as effective as higher doses. Meanwhile, higher doses (above 100 milligrams) appeared to be associated with a greater chance of internal bleeding. In other words, a baby aspirin is probably all that most people need on a daily basis. "

You also don't really need to take any vitamin supplements. 90% of it just gets excreted because most of it is not even in bioavailable forms. The only time I'll take one is if I'm dieting and not eating very much so I'm not taking in enough naturally.

Fish oil has very little actual scientific backing. However, it's cheap and if you're not taking in enough fats in your diet it can't hurt.

As far as Pre workout supplements, they have their place but it doesn't really do anything for you except provide stimulant. The NO has very little actual effect and I've never notice any "pump" that they all claim and I've tried many many brands. I find that the older I get the harder it is to get "fired up" to go to the gym and have good energy, that's where pre workout supps shine. However, the downside is that your body will become accoustomed to the stims and they lose effectiveness.

The only OTC supplement that actually lives up to it's hype is creatine. You will feel a difference (water retention, strength, and endurance increases). The AMP from GNC you mention is very good, I'd stick with that.

GNC is way overpriced. However, if you wait until gold card week and a sale, it's as cheap as the internet. They always have buy one get one free or 1/2 off. Just stock up then.

Intra workout......meh it's relatively new and I've never seen any decent studies showing it does anything. I think it's simply a gimmick to get you to buy another type of supplement.

Protein: Don't rely on one type for all your needs. Use a hydrolized isolate within an hour after your workout or that mixed with a caesin blend. Use the same upon waking before breakfast or your first meal of the day. Use casein right before bed. Another trick at GNC is look through the stock for unflavored. That does not sell well and often when it gets close to the expiration date they will knock down the price to less than half. Then mix it with your flavored powder.

"I bench four sets of 8 a 225 lbs, and maxed at 285 a few weeks ago."

I would take a look at your training before looking at other supps in any detail. Looking at this I see a problem. Why are you doing 4 sets with the same weight?? I would recommend something like this, if your max is 285. 135x15, 185x12, 225x10, 245 to failure, 265 to failure. And if your feeling good try 275 for a double.

A typical chest workout for me would be something like this (not including warm up on every exercise):

Bench 1 to 2 working sets to failure
Dumbell presses 3 sets to failure
Flys 3 sets to failure (althernate on chest days of lower, middle and upper flexations)
Incline bench press 3 sets to failure
Incline flys 3 sets to failure.
And if I have anything left I'll so some cable flys or dumbell pull overs.

All that being said, back to your original question.....supplements vary widely in their effect on different people. I would suggest check out this page before buying ANYTHING:

supplementreviews.com/

Be wary of products with less than 5-8 reviews as a lot of the companies are fly by night and will actually post rave reviews of their products to get people to buy them.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

You were asking about power lifting, what state are you in?

[tractor]

Surprised to see this one come back to life. Anyway, Pig, I usually don't do lifts to failure because I don't have a spotter, they are few and far between at the gym when I work out, and most guys just don't want to be bothered. I used to go to failure back in my college days, but found that I destroyed my shoulders and hips to the point I could barely drive and had trouble walking, so I eventually quit heavy lifting (for 18 years). Since I started back up, I find that if I don't max out on a regular basis I am able to do more reps, with heavier weights week, after week. No pain in my shoulders or hips for the past year. I'll take that over the pain I used to suffer that ultimately lead me to quit. I've actually gained more muscle mass, and weight using my workout method than I ever did in college. I also attribute that to the protein and creatine I've incorporated into my diet (too poor to afford either when I was in college). I was curious about the powerlifting records, I'm in Michigan, would fall into the 195lb class.

[pig]

There's a difference between going to failure and going heavy. You should be going to failure though IMHO.

There's no 195lb class It's 198lb. Here's the WPA Michigan records:

198 lb 585 (SQUAT) R. Handrinos Jr. 435 (BENCH) B. Steward 600 (DEADLIFT) B. Steward 1485 THREE LIFT TOTAL) B. Steward

[tractor]

Thanks, now I have something to shoot for, although I am far enough away, and have little to no desire to compete, but it's nice to have a goal.
I do reps with a light weight to finish my set to failure, if that counts. For example I finish my bench with reps of 135 to failure, I can do that without a spotter.

[pig]

Yeah, better than nothing. Do you have a Smith machine? Also, when I bench without a spotter I still go to "failure" in that I go until I know I couldn't do another one witout assistance. Are people really bothered spotting at your gym? People are falling all over themselves to spot where I go.

[Mad Dawg Wiccan]

One thing to watch on the protein supplements is the cholesterol count. I was halfway through the jar of 100% whey protein when I saw on the label that a single serving has 40% of the cholesterol RDA. The blend I just got from Iron Mind is only 20%.

[tractor]

Apr 18, 2011 9:11:45 GMT -5 @pig said:

Yeah, better than nothing. Do you have a Smith machine? Also, when I bench without a spotter I still go to "failure" in that I go until I know I couldn't do another one witout assistance. Are people really bothered spotting at your gym? People are falling all over themselves to spot where I go.

If you consider failure until you can't do another one (without a spotter), than that's what I do. I consider failure when I can't get it off my chest no matter how badly I might want to. Once I can do four sets of eight, I increase my weight and start over again. Doing a pyramid like you suggest is what I did in college, but I don't think I would get enough reps in without a spotter.
And yes, at my gym the guys are kind of pricks. There's usually only about four or five guys there when I go in and when I have asked before, I usually get an annoyed response like "OK, but just this once". One time a guy actually said, "if you need a spot, you're doing too much, I didn't come in to babysit everyone else" He was a prick, I was smiling to myself when I saw him a month later with 265 laying across his chest looking around for someone to help him out. Someone did, but it wasn't me.

[tractor]

Apr 18, 2011 9:48:14 GMT -5 Mad Dawg Wiccan said:

One thing to watch on the protein supplements is the cholesterol count. I was halfway through the jar of 100% whey protein when I saw on the label that a single serving has 40% of the cholesterol RDA. The blend I just got from Iron Mind is only 20%.

Thanks for the tip, I've never looked at that. I have been very impressed with ON gold whey. I feel great, have gained about five pounds in 1 1/2 months, and have minimal soreness. The only side effect so far is I have a hard time sleeping through the night when I drink it within 1 hour of bed time. Don't know why, but even if I don't sleep well, I'm not tired the next day.

[pig]

ON is about the best it's also more expensive. One little known fact about whey is that it's not very stable and the cheaper ones are proceessed under conditions that render most of it unusable.

[tractor]

Apr 18, 2011 10:08:29 GMT -5 @pig said:

ON is about the best it's also more expensive. One little known fact about whey is that it's not very stable and the cheaper ones are proceessed under conditions that render most of it unusable.

ON is cheaper than the AMP from GNC I was using. I'm going to try and find another source, but GNC is close by and during gold card week, the prices aren't that bad. Either way, I think it's good to switch things up every year or so.

[pig]

The AMP protein is a rip off. I don't think changing up protein makes much difference unless you're using cheap stuff. The only AMP product that I've found to be worth it is their creatine and that's because it's able to be underdosed (compared to other brands) so you don't have to use as much.

[RoadToRiches]

I used ON for very long time. I still have some. I just recently switched to Gaspari MyoFusion. It's freaking DELICIOUS.

Pig, I know what you are saying about supps. Too bad pre workout didn't hit you. I love it. I tried them all from NoXplode, Jack3d, WhiteFlood. original SuperPump 250. All of them were really good for me. Now I use new formula SuperPump Max and it's the best one I ever tried.

Intra-workout works great for me too.

tractor, go to bodybuilding.com and read up some reviews on what you are looking for.

[pig]

"Too bad pre workout didn't hit you. I love it. I tried them all from NoXplode, Jack3d, WhiteFlood. original SuperPump 250. All of them were really good for me. Now I use new formula SuperPump Max and it's the best one I ever tried."

Well I do love them but only for the energy and focus. Have you ever tried NO Bomb? I want to try that next.

"Intra-workout works great for me too. "

I have never used one. I drink my pre workout supp throughout my workouts. What did they do for you?

[RoadToRiches]

I have hard time get my ass in gear without preworkout sups. I didn't try NO Bomb. The best one so far for me were both Gaspari products. They are on a little bit pricier side, but well worth it for me. I seem to keep taking one scoop of SuperPump and still feel it just like the first day I took it. NoXlode on the other hand, by week 2 I was taking 3 scoops.

My intra is Gaspari SizeOn pre Contest (less sugars and carbs than the original one). You can take it post workout. It's a creatine. I sip it through out my workout. About 30 minutes before workout I chug SuperPump Max.

www.gasparinutrition.com/products/sizeon-max-performance/

[pig]

Oh, if it's creatine that's probably why I didn't try it. Yeah Gaspari products are decent but can't say I've ever used any of them long term. I hear you on the NOXplode. It gave me the shits when I first used it and it foams up which is a PITA but overall I liked it.

[RoadToRiches]

Oh yeah.. Noxplode ...same thing was happening to me lol

Old SuperPump 250 formula also was called SuperDump. They fixed it since then.

[pig]

Some guy was trying to get me to try Hemorage yesterday but I had to decline as I had already drank some C4. I haven't really heard anything much about either one. C4 is not bad it tastes great and doesn't make me jittery.