My take on supplements

[hayabusa]

Id like to share with you some supplements i feel should be included by any bodybuilder who wishes to make gains and stay healthy between an whilst on a cycle,

First off as a predominantly natural bodybuilder nowdays i feel your supplementation between runs are vital to ensure progress, i only use a few products as i feel these are the best and everything else is usually a means of making money for the manufacturers.

First off creatine Ethyl ester and monohydrate, i use it pre and post workout on all training days, the ethyl ester is better IMO as it does not seem to upset my stomach so much and also has better absorbtion into the body and therefore less chance of water retention outside the muscle cell.....i also dont agree with the loading phases some manufacturers recommend as IMO its a waste of product as your body will only use and uptake a small amount once required and therefore the rest is just pissed away when you go to the toilet, i personally use creatine bombs and i defo notice a difference for a short while when i start using it again after a short break, thats another thing thats worth noting, these products only work for a short while just like everything else, so cycle them so as to give your system a rest and shock it when you run it again....
I use it half an hour before a workout and a half hour afterwards, in an attempt to avoid both protein/amino acids and creatine all trying to compete for the same damaged muscles, not a good idea, unless you are using IGF or insulin....

Second is Glutamine, it works to restore missing pump after an intense workout, i have noticed improved recovery using this, but not much else, it seems to prevent you from aching as much for as long, which is a big thing IMO, defo worth a try as its cheap, if they have experimented with this in hospitals then it defo deserves some further investigation....i use this stuff before i go to bed on an empty stomach if possible and sometimes first thing in the morning.......

Amino acids, the building blocks required for growth and muscle function, i use these pre and post workout, and hour before and straight after with a shake, every bodybuilder/strength athlete should use these, think of it as extra protein.....

Protein/weight gain.....does what it says on the tin, just ensure you dont buy cheap crap, you want quality stuff, but then again dont get sucked in by the marketing either, a good weight gain i use is atlas 1500.....it has 1500k.cals per large serving, so i break it down into 2-3 servings and use it as a meal replacement and post workout, i also use 90plus casein protein made by nutrisport, very clean and has 45g of protein per serving, good with porridge first things and last thing at night before bed, it absorbs slowly giving you a drip feed effect on your muscles.....which is nice...

Now these are what i call safety supplements, you have your most common ones which most of us take anyways, which are multi-vitamins and fish oils, both are great for your heart and immune system, everybody should use these IMO, we all know what they do.

Here are the ones i feel are best used to help counter act the negatives of steroid use;

Milk thistle & Liv52, both great for your liver and kidneys with plenty of water, both help flush out the toxins in your system as a result of using gear, especially oral steroids, but it also great for those of us who eat an above average intake of protein or drink alcohol.

Hawthorne berry, great for helping keep your blood pressure normal whilst using androgens or suffering from water retention, i use these everyday to help maintain healthy circulation etc. when you are eating all that food and bulking up it will help prevent headaches and irregular heart pressure....

Here ones you probably havent thought about, but according to research works well,
Zinc, its great at helping prevent your body from converting test into DHT, DHT is not great for hair loss and acne like skin conditions....

Another side note, when using steroids, creatine and glutamine are not required as your body should uptake enougth from the food you are consuming, however some prefer to use it anyways to cover all basis, its personal preference, but i feel, its all money, so why waste it....

 

[CrazyMonkey]

Great post. Gunna have to get some zinc tho, I didn't know about that one.

I throw in a Nitric Oxide supplement as well, my preference being SuperPump and NaNOx9. They help me focus a little better in the gym and keep the motivation going all workout.