Post by Tony Atkins on Aug 6, 2011 3:25:19 GMT -5
“top 5 powerlfiting supplementsâ€
By Ian Smalley
For many strength athletes, the missing piece of the puzzle to bigger lifts may be found in supplementation. Assuming that you already take in enough calories to support growth and strength gains, adding supplements is an easy way to get a performance advantage. Here is a list of 5 supplements that will kick your lifting into overdrive.
1. P1. Protein powder. Upping your protein intake is an easy way to make an immidiate difference in your training. 1.5 to 2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight is recommended for strength athletes. Whey protein is the easiest protein to get a hold of, and will vary in price depending on the grade you are buying. Concentrate, Isolate, and Hydrosylate are 3 types of whey, differentiated by the size of there protein chains. Concentrate would take the longest to be absorbed by the body, while Hydrosylate would absorb the fastest. These are relative lengths of time however, as whey in general absorbs the fastest of any protein type. An easy way to use protein powder is to just add 100 gs a day to your diet. Whether you do it in 2 -50 g. shakes, or 5 -20g shakes is up to you. Just make sure you don’t fall into the trap of planning your meals around your shakes. It’s the other way around. Remember that you’re supplementing your diet, not replacing it. After a week or so you should notice that not only are your muscles much harder, but you also have lots of smelly gas for all to enjoy.
2. C2. Creatine. Technically speaking creatine is muscle ATP, or fuel stored in the muscle for contractions. In the real world it often adds water weight, or bloat, to your body. This intracellular water can make you stronger. Creatine monohydrate is the simplest form of creatine you can buy, and the one that’s been used the most. The positive side of monohydrate is that it will fuel your muscles to some degree, and put on water weight- the resulting combination is that you are bigger and stronger. On the bad side it’s pretty hard on the digestive system and can cause tons of stomach bloating and gas. Other forms of creatine have been released to combat the side effects of monohydrate, such as creatine ethyl ester malate, kre-alkalyn and others. By removing the water retention and gassy effects, these products also remove the strength and size associated with the water. So in the end you are left with good old muscle ATP to give your muscles a boost during your hard training, which is always and advantage.
3. P3. Pre workout drink My personal favorite, in terms of instant impact you can’t go wrong with a good pre workout stimulant drink. Every major supplement company has there own version of this, but essentially you’ll have some type of matrix that includes Stimulants (caffeine), Carbs (sugar), Creatine, Nitrous oxide releasers (arginine), and B vitamins. All of these combined in different ratios give you extra energy to train harder. I personally haven’t trained without one of these in one form or another for over 3 years. It just makes that much difference in terms of intensity and stamina that you can’t ignore the results. Although, just know that if you work out in the evenings you may need to take a natural sleep aid, such as melatonin, after your training to counter act the effects so you can get to sleep.
4. J4. Joint Support Any Powerlifter or serious strength athlete can tell you that they usually feel beat up most of the time from training. The cumulative effects of heavy training on your joints can be very debilitating. Taking a good joint support formula is a must to keep inflammation in your joints down, which in turn relieves pain and lessens the chance of injury. The best formulas are powder based, and can be mixed in with your protein shakes in varying amounts, depending on need. They usually contain a combination of Gelatin, Collagen, Glucosamine, and Chondroitin. All of these are actually the same things that you have in your own joints, just from an animal source. Similar to eating meat to rebuild your own meat. You should notice a pretty dramatic difference after a couple of weeks of taking joint support. You will have less joint pain and inflammation and be using less over the counter pain relievers to combat the symptoms.
5. A5. Adaptogens This is a relatively new concept to athletes that’s been around for centuries. Adaptogens are naturally occurring compounds which help the body to adapt and overcome different types of stresses. Training is a type of physical stress. Anxiety is a type of emotional stress. There are many things that can derail our training, so using a product that will directly combat stress symptoms is a huge advantage for any athlete. Currently there is only one Adaptogen product on the market, and its called Evogen10.Much like an anti-oxidant supplement would be taken to help your body destroy free radicals, Evogen10 combines many different adaptogens into one formula to accommodate all kinds of training stresses where varying adaptive responses are necessary. I’ve personally felt an increase in mental focus, more explosive power and stamina in the gym, increased libido, and lessening of anxiety in my daily life. I would definitely recommend this in conjunction with the above 4 items to bring training levels to a new high.
By Ian Smalley
For many strength athletes, the missing piece of the puzzle to bigger lifts may be found in supplementation. Assuming that you already take in enough calories to support growth and strength gains, adding supplements is an easy way to get a performance advantage. Here is a list of 5 supplements that will kick your lifting into overdrive.
1. P1. Protein powder. Upping your protein intake is an easy way to make an immidiate difference in your training. 1.5 to 2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight is recommended for strength athletes. Whey protein is the easiest protein to get a hold of, and will vary in price depending on the grade you are buying. Concentrate, Isolate, and Hydrosylate are 3 types of whey, differentiated by the size of there protein chains. Concentrate would take the longest to be absorbed by the body, while Hydrosylate would absorb the fastest. These are relative lengths of time however, as whey in general absorbs the fastest of any protein type. An easy way to use protein powder is to just add 100 gs a day to your diet. Whether you do it in 2 -50 g. shakes, or 5 -20g shakes is up to you. Just make sure you don’t fall into the trap of planning your meals around your shakes. It’s the other way around. Remember that you’re supplementing your diet, not replacing it. After a week or so you should notice that not only are your muscles much harder, but you also have lots of smelly gas for all to enjoy.
2. C2. Creatine. Technically speaking creatine is muscle ATP, or fuel stored in the muscle for contractions. In the real world it often adds water weight, or bloat, to your body. This intracellular water can make you stronger. Creatine monohydrate is the simplest form of creatine you can buy, and the one that’s been used the most. The positive side of monohydrate is that it will fuel your muscles to some degree, and put on water weight- the resulting combination is that you are bigger and stronger. On the bad side it’s pretty hard on the digestive system and can cause tons of stomach bloating and gas. Other forms of creatine have been released to combat the side effects of monohydrate, such as creatine ethyl ester malate, kre-alkalyn and others. By removing the water retention and gassy effects, these products also remove the strength and size associated with the water. So in the end you are left with good old muscle ATP to give your muscles a boost during your hard training, which is always and advantage.
3. P3. Pre workout drink My personal favorite, in terms of instant impact you can’t go wrong with a good pre workout stimulant drink. Every major supplement company has there own version of this, but essentially you’ll have some type of matrix that includes Stimulants (caffeine), Carbs (sugar), Creatine, Nitrous oxide releasers (arginine), and B vitamins. All of these combined in different ratios give you extra energy to train harder. I personally haven’t trained without one of these in one form or another for over 3 years. It just makes that much difference in terms of intensity and stamina that you can’t ignore the results. Although, just know that if you work out in the evenings you may need to take a natural sleep aid, such as melatonin, after your training to counter act the effects so you can get to sleep.
4. J4. Joint Support Any Powerlifter or serious strength athlete can tell you that they usually feel beat up most of the time from training. The cumulative effects of heavy training on your joints can be very debilitating. Taking a good joint support formula is a must to keep inflammation in your joints down, which in turn relieves pain and lessens the chance of injury. The best formulas are powder based, and can be mixed in with your protein shakes in varying amounts, depending on need. They usually contain a combination of Gelatin, Collagen, Glucosamine, and Chondroitin. All of these are actually the same things that you have in your own joints, just from an animal source. Similar to eating meat to rebuild your own meat. You should notice a pretty dramatic difference after a couple of weeks of taking joint support. You will have less joint pain and inflammation and be using less over the counter pain relievers to combat the symptoms.
5. A5. Adaptogens This is a relatively new concept to athletes that’s been around for centuries. Adaptogens are naturally occurring compounds which help the body to adapt and overcome different types of stresses. Training is a type of physical stress. Anxiety is a type of emotional stress. There are many things that can derail our training, so using a product that will directly combat stress symptoms is a huge advantage for any athlete. Currently there is only one Adaptogen product on the market, and its called Evogen10.Much like an anti-oxidant supplement would be taken to help your body destroy free radicals, Evogen10 combines many different adaptogens into one formula to accommodate all kinds of training stresses where varying adaptive responses are necessary. I’ve personally felt an increase in mental focus, more explosive power and stamina in the gym, increased libido, and lessening of anxiety in my daily life. I would definitely recommend this in conjunction with the above 4 items to bring training levels to a new high.