25 replies to this topic

[MattJ]

I'm starting to work out at my local gym and I'm going to be doing a mixture of cardio and weightlifting. I don't know much about supplements for working out and there are a million different pills/powders/drinks out there and they all claim to be the best.

I would be interested in something that gives me a better workout and maybe more energy as well as helping me to build muscle faster. Does anyone have any experience taking stuff like this? Thanks!

[peterjohn]

Well I have not heard that we can use any supplements during training but supplements can be used before and after workout . I would suggest to take natural foods that contain protein in them . if you emphasize on supplements then you can use Whey protein which is useful in building muscles .

Edited by peterjohn, 17 April 2012 - 11:16 AM.

[Hope47]

I think you need a pre-workout supplement.Get White flood from Controlled Labs.

[cyrusbrian]

I just have normal supplement but I do take care for the diet

[Godot]

Take Creatine ethyl ester daily, and a high-glutamine whey protein shake immediately after working out.

[PGN]

My sports nutritionist recommended Carnispan, time-released L-Carnitine Fumarate, 1 capsule on empty stomach before exercise and 1 capsule with a protein meal after exercise. It helped me lose additional fat after I had reached a plateau. I do High Interval Training exercise 3 times a week and always take these before and after. This is the description from Amazon.com. It runs about $15 for a month's worth


New Carnispan® from Tishcon Corp. is a high-dose L-Carnitine dietary supplement that delivers 500mg of elemental carnitine in a Timed Release formulation specifically designed to spread the benefits of Carnitine over a longer period of time. Carnispan® is 100% vegetarian.Suggested adult dosage is one 500mg tablet with a meal up to twice per day or as recommended by your healthcare professional. L-Carnitine Fumarate is a stable form of L-Carnitine. Each serving size of 1 tablet provides 880 mg of L-Carnitine Fumarate which delivers 500 mg of elemental Carnitine. L-Carnitine has important metabolic functions and is believed to perform crucial roles in cardiovascular metabolism, exercise performance, weight control, maternal and infant nutrition and more. L-Carnitine plays a very important role in fat metabolism. It is essential for transporting long-chain fatty acid molecules (acylCoA) from the cytosol into the mitochondria of cells in the form of acylcarnitine. The aylcarnitine is then shuttled across the inner mitochondrlal membrane where it is reconjugated to form acylCoA. The free carnitine molecule is then shuttled back to pick up another acyl moiety. This specialized transport mechanism which is tightly regulated is known as the "carnitine shuttle". Thus carnitine supplies the necessary fuel for oxidation in the electron transport chain to produce vital biological energy as ATP (adenosine triphosphate). Carnitine is also involved in the formation of acylcarnitine from activated short-chain fatty acids (acylCoA) and thus protect against the accumulation of acylCoA that may be deleterious to the cell. Carnitine has also been shown to augment the aerobic metabolism of carbohydrates and enhance oxidative phosphorylation (Schonekess et al, 1995).

Edited by PGN, 28 May 2012 - 09:24 PM.

[natro]

My sports nutritionist recommended Carnispan, time-released L-Carnitine Fumarate, 1 capsule on empty stomach before exercise and 1 capsule with a protein meal after exercise. It helped me lose additional fat after I had reached a plateau. I do High Interval Training exercise 3 times a week and always take these before and after. This is the description from Amazon.com. It runs about $15 for a month's worth

Very cool! I heard a bit about L-Carnitine before but not for muscle building... So do you use it because it gives you energy for your workout or because it helps build muscle? You say it also helped burn some fat? I'm trying to lose another 3% body fat or so to reach under 10% and i've been stuck at this plateau for a while... Maybe this could help!

You also take it only when you exercise correct? So 3 days a week in your case (in an average week) and nothing when you are not planning on exercising?

Edited by natro, 12 June 2012 - 09:39 AM.

[nowayout]

Carnitine is a mixed bag. It also reduces cell sensitivity to thyroid hormones, which is why it is sometimes used to treat hyperthyroidism. If you are not hyperthyroid, that may not be a good thing.

[platypus]

According to current wisdom pre-workout nutrition is highly important too. So perhaps one should take some whey-protein 30 min before the workout, BCAA:s during the workout, and some more whey afterwards. Creatine and beta-alanine will make one stronger, and enable training harder.

edit: BCAA:s and whey protein are anabolic, so they directly help to build muscle

Edited by platypus, 12 June 2012 - 03:31 PM.

[invictus8]

I take 20g of whey protein and 5g of creatine monohydrate before a workout, and 20g of whey protein afterwards. I've seen no evidence of any other supplements having consistently positive effects. Keep in mind whey protein is high in glutamine and other amino acids (so save your money and just buy whey protein).

[mitomutant]

Train fasted
Pre-workout: 10-15 grams BCAA + (optionally) 200mg caffeine. If going high-reps - which I do not recommend - take 5g creatine (mono)
Post-workout (weightlifting): 2:1 carb/protein ratio (maltodextrin+whey isolate). I take 40carbs+20pro. Add 3g leucine
1 hour after: BIG real food with protein plus starchy carbs

Restrict carbs on non-training days.

[invictus8]

Fascinating. But why weight training while fasted? I can understand HIIT and an empty stomach -- since you want to burn off glycogen stores.

[mitomutant]

Fascinating. But why weight training while fasted? I can understand HIIT and an empty stomach -- since you want to burn off glycogen stores.

Take a look here and here

In the context of weight training, the ultimate resource for fasted training - and intermittent fasting in general - is leangains.com.

[Dataguru]

Supplements.......... Never take........

[YOLF]

I think it was turnbuckle who in another thread said something about onion juice raising T by 314%, after reading that, I other studies claiming ginger raised T by 230%, olive oil by 27%, and that broccoli and cauliflower boosted T also. T is what makes us put on the lean muscle mass. I've started eating tons of onions, ginger and olive oil, that much T could really have a significant effect.

Ginger is available as a supplement (it's just the powdered food/spice in capsules). According to allometry we should take 4.5 grams of it. Tried onion juice, it's horrible, so I'm just eating lots of onions. Chinese restaurants can make good spicy cooked vegies.

[mastercowboy]

99% of supplemements are no better than sugar pills..only Whey might help a bit...just train hard,eat enough clean food and sleep enough..but don't expect miracles whatever you do!One time the plateau hits and you are stuck forever..unless you are going to try the dark side next!

All people who train for years will tell you similar things.It is no coincidence..also try to not believe the people in forums about how big,how strong or how lean they got after taking a certain garbage supplement because it is all crap and most possible these people are just parrots that promote the products.This is billion dollars industry so it is not strange to use all these tactics to sell you their junk.Unfortunately i have learned this the hard way after spending some thousands on these so many years...

Just accept who you are.The monkey can't transform into elephant!

Edited by mastercowboy, 01 January 2013 - 10:09 AM.

[kevinspaceyisunderrated]

I think you need a pre-workout supplement.Get White flood from Controlled Labs.

Caffeine is the cheapest and most popular pre-workout supplement. You shouldn't worry about the pre-workout powders they sell at supplement stores until you've been lifting for a few years. I like adding L-theanine to my caffeine for increased focus and less anxiety/jitteryness.

Edited by kevinspaceyisunderrated, 02 January 2013 - 10:12 PM.

[Logic]

Holy basil, or Ocimum sanctum sends testosterone of the charts (>1500 nanograms per decilitre) in rabbits.

Effect of tulsi (Ocimum Sanctum Linn.) on sperm count and reproductive hormones in male albino rabbits
http://www.ncbi.nlm....les/PMC3059441/

NB: Sperm count dropped by 45% and levels of FSH went down by a factor five as a result of the herb.,
LH concentration dropped of the bottom of the scale.

Holy basil seems to work in a similar way to a powerfull androgenic steroid and should be properly researched before use IMHO.
Sadly I am clueless on the subject of Testosterone, LH, FSH etc. so anyone knowledgable; plz expand on this.

[YOLF]

Hmmm... It doesn't sound good if T is way up but sperm count drops by that much. If you're reproductive health isn't improved by an increase in T it sounds damaging to me. The other studies on ginger and onions that raise T by 230 and 314% respectively appear to do so because of the detoxifying effect of the veggies. It would seem to me that the body will boost T and other sex/workout hormones on it's own given the right environment and the body lowers the production of T to stem the production of ROS. So if we assume that the improved viability of the sperm in these studies (sorry I don't have links) is due to an improvement in body/biological environment, then raising T and causing a lower sperm count and reduced sex hormones is horrible for health and forcing an elevation in T that very well may be dangerous. I wouldn't do it.

To me it looks like having a clean reproductive system functioning at 100% would be ideal for not only offspring but also personal longevity and health. I wouldn't even bother messing with it. Sounds like something they gave priests for a reason.

Holy basil, or Ocimum sanctum sends testosterone of the charts (>1500 nanograms per decilitre) in rabbits.

Effect of tulsi (Ocimum Sanctum Linn.) on sperm count and reproductive hormones in male albino rabbits
http://www.ncbi.nlm....les/PMC3059441/

NB: Sperm count dropped by 45% and levels of FSH went down by a factor five as a result of the herb.,
LH concentration dropped of the bottom of the scale.

Holy basil seems to work in a similar way to a powerfull androgenic steroid and should be properly researched before use IMHO.
Sadly I am clueless on the subject of Testosterone, LH, FSH etc. so anyone knowledgable; plz expand on this.

[Strelok]

Holy basil, or Ocimum sanctum sends testosterone of the charts (>1500 nanograms per decilitre) in rabbits.

Effect of tulsi (Ocimum Sanctum Linn.) on sperm count and reproductive hormones in male albino rabbits
http://www.ncbi.nlm....les/PMC3059441/

NB: Sperm count dropped by 45% and levels of FSH went down by a factor five as a result of the herb.,
LH concentration dropped of the bottom of the scale.

Holy basil seems to work in a similar way to a powerfull androgenic steroid and should be properly researched before use IMHO.
Sadly I am clueless on the subject of Testosterone, LH, FSH etc. so anyone knowledgable; plz expand on this.

I wonder if Tulsi (Holy Basil) tea would work as well?

[Maecenas]

Recommendations must be based on how much muscles you want to gain and what is your main goal. I am training for martial arts, not for sheer muscles and use only pull ups and dips for strength training.I do 5-6 sets of each exercise every other day with 3-4 minutes interval among sets. I also run every other day 7-10 km. I eat a diet somewhat rich in fish and poultry and don't use any protein supplements. I weigh 81 kg and my height is 178 cm (5.8 feet). I think regularity is the main thing. Here is the result of my 1 year period of trainings

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Edited by Maecenas, 07 January 2013 - 07:53 PM.

[Victor]

Very interesting reading over this.

Way to many people recommending unnecessary supplements and ridiculous regimes to follow now days.

Clean eating is of course beneficial, but not essential. A sense of mental stability should be sustained by allowing yourself to eat certain foods in moderation - or what ever keeps your mentally healthy. Reducing stress is so important, in this life where our toes are stepped on left right and centre, we have enough to worry about.

Satisfy you macro and micro nutrient intake. DONT binge on supplements, don't even buy them if you are tight for money. Whey protein and creatine are the only i would really recommend. This along with a multi-vitamin, fish oil and st.john's wart.

Look into progressive overload, If it fits your macros (IIFYM) and WORK on form.

A push,pull, legs split will suffice. But working up to a body part 2 times a week is somewhat optimal for growth.

[Victor]

Very interesting reading over this.

Way to many people recommending unnecessary supplements and ridiculous regimes to follow now days.

Clean eating is of course beneficial, but not essential. A sense of mental stability should be sustained by allowing yourself to eat certain foods in moderation - or what ever keeps your mentally healthy. Reducing stress is so important, in this life where our toes are stepped on left right and centre, we have enough to worry about.

Satisfy you macro and micro nutrient intake. DONT binge on supplements, don't even buy them if you are tight for money. Whey protein and creatine are the only i would really recommend. This along with a multi-vitamin, fish oil and st.john's wart.

Look into progressive overload, If it fits your macros (IIFYM) and WORK on form.

A push,pull, legs split will suffice. But working up to a body part 2 times a week is somewhat optimal for growth.

[Arjiuna]

Amino Energy before workout - basically caffeine and BCAA's, and more BCAA's after.
ZMA before bed - helps recovery and allows for significant morning wood.
Don't forget your multi.

[madanthony]

Carnitine is a mixed bag. It also reduces cell sensitivity to thyroid hormones, which is why it is sometimes used to treat hyperthyroidism. If you are not hyperthyroid, that may not be a good thing.

idk where you get this info but the reason l-carnitine is given in hyperthyroid is because those with increased metabolism rate rip through carnitine at a fast rate and if they do not supplement this they get muscle wasting. This is not the only supplement needed to prevent vsome of the deleterious effects of hyperthyroid due to that disease burning through more in a day than normal people do. fyi, if anyone needs to improve their sensitivity to thyroid hormones you can take coleus forskolin. It is proven to worked and even listed in the Roche biochemical database for its effectiveness.

Edited by madanthony, 11 August 2013 - 03:11 AM.

[Brainy]

Train fasted
Pre-workout: 10-15 grams BCAA + (optionally) 200mg caffeine. If going high-reps - which I do not recommend - take 5g creatine (mono)
Post-workout (weightlifting): 2:1 carb/protein ratio (maltodextrin+whey isolate). I take 40carbs+20pro. Add 3g leucine
1 hour after: BIG real food with protein plus starchy carbs

Restrict carbs on non-training days.

 

Exactly what he said!