Supplements

LitenFast

WKR
Joined
Jan 29, 2013
Messages
425
Location
Ellison Bay, WI
Hello All,

I have noticed there are some extremely knowledgeable people on here as far as fitness/nutrition goes. So I have a few questions, but some background first.

29 years old
6'4"
195#
Job varies, but can range from very physical, to operating machinery. Farming

Began working out again after a long lull after college about 10 weeks ago, and found the 5x5 stronglifts 8 weeks ago.
I have been following that program religiously for those 8 weeks 3 mornings a week. I jumped the beginning weights up on a few exercises but am currently at
5sets of 5 reps of
175# squat
225# dead
125# bench
125# row
95# OHP

I have been improving my diet to more closely resemble paleo/primal as time goes on, which has included removing a lot of sugar and carbs. I do a post workout protein shake and will throw one in my lunch box occasionally also

I wake up at 4:15AM to get these workouts in before work, and get to my garage gym on our farm at about 4:45

I have currently been taking Mtn Ops Yeti for the past month 15-30min before my workouts with good results and not eating beforehand.

Yesterday AM I experimented with BCAA's before and during my workout and they seemed to provide very good energy, like pretty much skipping into the garage to work out! I mixed 5g into my Yeti and H20 preworkout, then mixed another 3g into my water bottle I sip on while working out.


What is everyone else having good luck with for strength workout supplements?

I am interested in thoughts of Creatine(I know there is already 2g in Yeti, but loading is often 20-30g per day for 5 days and then 5-10g/day) and also Glutamine. I want to maximize my time in the gym without just throwing away money.

As the season gets closer and I get a good strength base I will transition into more weighted hikes and conditioning type work outs and when my progress tapers off on 5x5 stronglifts I am looking into something like Wendlers 5/3/1.

Thanks guys!!!
 

gauge

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Sep 10, 2014
Messages
126
Everyone will have different opinions on this because you will have to find what works best for you. Having different goals and training styles will require different needs. Keep in mind that diet is above all the most important thing to focus on. Secondly, don't be over marketed by the supplement industry.
Myself, I supplement a multi vitamin, high grade fish oil, and whey protein, all on a 80/20 paleo diet. I also will take a preworkout from time to time. I am very happy with my recovery time currently.
I do suggest some research on creatine and glutamine on Google. It is disputed the long term gains on creatine and if glutamine is necessary with a healthy diet. I could argue either side with what I know about them.
Keep Hammering though...
 
Joined
May 18, 2014
Messages
397
Location
Oregon
Sounds like you're doing pretty good already. Most people will tell you that nutrition is 80% of fitness.

I currently take the following from a company called 1st Phorm.

Ignition
Phormula-1
BCAA
Megawatt V2

I take the megawatt pre-workout, usually the BCAA during workout, the post workout stack of ignition and Phormula-1.

Their staff is very knowledgable, and the flavors of their proteins is awesome.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Poser

WKR
Joined
Dec 27, 2013
Messages
5,033
Location
Durango CO
You don't necessarily have to do the creatine loading stage -if you take it daily for a few weeks, your body will eventually achieve the same ends. The loading stage is more of a way to jump start the effects. It is important that you consume it daily while on it. Missing a day here and there won't hurt anything, but only taking it 3x a week will have minimal effects. Creatine is the most studied supplement on the market, so there is plenty of info available if you spend some time looking around. I would note that about 25% of the population doesn't respond to it. After 7-10 days of taking creatine including the loading phase, if you don't find that you have gained some weight, you may not respond to it. Once you've been on it for awhile and come off of it, it will take 2-3 weeks before the extra creatine is out of your system. Once that happens, you'll drop a few pounds of water weight you were carrying around in your muscles. Its usually 4-6 pounds for me, but there are some variables here. The more muscle mass you have, the more weight you will probably gain/drop when loading or deloading from Creatine.
 
OP
L

LitenFast

WKR
Joined
Jan 29, 2013
Messages
425
Location
Ellison Bay, WI
Thanks for the responses guys!!

Poser,
How much Creatine are you taking daily on loading and maintenance cycles? Do you regularly cycle on and off Creatine? What is the benefit of that?
 

Poser

WKR
Joined
Dec 27, 2013
Messages
5,033
Location
Durango CO
Thanks for the responses guys!!

Poser,
How much Creatine are you taking daily on loading and maintenance cycles? Do you regularly cycle on and off Creatine? What is the benefit of that?

I take one heaping Tsp daily after works outs or whenever on recovery days. During the loading phased, I'll take a tsp 4-5x a day for 4-5 days.
I do cycle on and off of it. There is no harm is staying on it, but if you're not focusing on strength gains or, in the case of bodybuilding, hypertrophy, there's not much point in being on it so I take it in conjunction with strength cycles. In the most simplistic terms, creatine is that extra rep before failure so, on a strength cycle where you are adding weight to the bar weekly to increase your 5 rep max, it might be the difference between hitting your 5th rep on a 5 rep max on the 4th week of the cycle vs. only making 4 reps, thus having to repeat the same weight the following week. Its a very subtle difference that only a person who has been training for awhile will really benefit from. If you're just going to the gym and doing the same weight every week, there's not much benefit outside of the placebo of feeling stronger. The placebo effect can be real. When I come off creatine, I feel weaker because I expect to be weaker.

Personally, I do 3-4 cycle of it during the first 8 months of the year. Once the Fall gets here, I usually come off it as I'm in more of a maintenance mode during the Fall hunting season. In between strength cycles, I may focus more on conditioning for a few weeks at a time.
 
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