DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Sports supplements question

Well, after a 9 year hiatus, I started lifting at the gym again last May.

I used to go all the time in college for close to 2 1/2 years before I quit when I bought my first house shortly after graduating. I never touched a weight for 9 years, but didn't like the way I was looking or feeling. When you buy a bigger pants size about 6 years later, then those start to get a little tight, it's not too cool.

So, now I have a kid, I'm married, and I'm about 10 years older than when I quit. It's much tougher. Can't go whenever I want because I have a kid to watch, besides the job and your basic errands. But I've been going strong and lost pretty much all the weight I put on after I quit.

I wanted to know what kind of supplements people use? I always used to use creatine, specifically Cell-Tech. I used it during the summer, cycled off, then during the fall/winter, but kind of want to stay off of it now. I know it's a bit tough on your kidneys. I have basically just been taking protein supplements only right now.

Anyone here lift, and what do you like to use? Haven't tried the whole nitro craze, either. People seem to get all hopped up on that.

I haven't stopped (yet) after college and I have tried to stay as natural as possible. Mostly becuase I'm lifting for fitness and not necessarily performance on the field / track anymore.

Multivitamin Daily and then also extra vitamin c tablets (I'm still around kids and they get sick way more than anyone so I want to protect myself).

Other than that I stick with protein just to maintain size because I don't want to grow anymore ...

I try to eat healthy, keep a lot of fruits and vegetables in the system and drink a decent amount of water too ... that's about it for me - hope it helps?

Man I wish I could get back to working out again.

I have put on so much weight in the past 2 years tha it's not even funny.

Can't help you out here. I lifted a fair amount in college, pretty much by myself. Got my bench press up to 300 lbs.

Never took a supplement in my life, unless beer and burgers counts.

Granted, I don't look now like I looked then. (I'm about 20 to 25 lbs lighter)

You mentioned something about being bad for your kidneys......so why use it?

I really like NO before working out. I like it way better than when I have taken creatine in the past. NO really does pump you up if taken pre work out.

Of course protein and glutamine post workout

King

I use BSN NO Xplode and BSN CellMass, and have gotten good results. Google reviews for them and you will find many happy customers.

I got them both at supplemnetwharehouse.com for the price you would pay for one at GNC.

I dont usually shop GNC because as mentioned their markup is just incredible, but there is this smoking hot manager lady who is a huge Browns fan and she fawns over my Brownie tattoo every time I go in there, so I hold off and by something I want from there just so I have an excuse to go into store

Anyways she gave me a good deal on Jackd so I went ahead and got it to try it out. $26 for a 45 serving jar. Creatine and NO,zero fillers. Actually tasted pretty good and mixes with water so you arent getting a bunch of calories from milk.. I took my first dose before gym today and it did seem to give me energy and focus with a nice pump.

KING

8+ glasses of water per day, balanced diet of roughly 55-60% carbs, 20-30 % fats, and about 15% protein, plus maybe a general multivitamin. 4-5 days of cardio, 2-4 days of strength training per week.

Aside from the multivitamin (and that's not a necessity), no need for supplements. That general plan should do you pretty well.

You need to drink a lot of water while on it. It does seem to work well.

I do need a good mulitvitamin. I'm a horrible eater. I have changed my habits quite a bit, which just means I eat less fatty and processed foods than I used to. But I'm not a big fruit eater, and I HATE my veggies. Yeah, I'm like a 4 year old.

Whoever was talking about the Jack'd, (or I think it's Jack3d), I thought about trying that out but haven't known anyone to use it. I basically have been doing about 3 days a week cardio, and 5 days lifting. I am back down to about what I weighed 9 1/2 years ago when I quit. My pants are loose again, which in a way sucks because I hate wearing belts, but I'll gladly put that belt on in exchange for getting my six pack back.

Right now I typically sub a meal on some days with a protein bar and a glass of water, usually a late breakfast since I'm not a breakfast kind of person. I eat chicken often, and usually have 1 to 2 protein shakes per day, depending if I'm lifting or not. When I was on the Cell-Tech, I was using just a general whey. I'm using the Syntha-6 now, and will take Muscle Milk here in there (usually only because it tastes so damn good )

I haven't had a computer since Thanksgiving, so my online ordering has been reduced to going to Vitamin World, which is still much cheaper than GNC. Thanks for some of the tips, just wanted to see what works for some of the people. I'm kind of hitting that plateau point now. Saw huge gains for first 5-6 months, a little more the next 2, and haven't seen much about the last month and a half minus shedding a couple more pounds.

jacked3d is ok, but its so 2 years ago..lol, 1MR and NTKTS is where its at now honestly, if you're just getting back into it you're not going to need much. You'll respond well to food and vitamins, and plenty of rest, and muscle memory should kick in. I'd do maybe a 3 day split with a push/pull type workouts and 2-3 days of HIIT, then after you get in better shape, start with the supplementation/training depending on your goals, I can hook you up with some great resources for supplementation/training. Just hit me up in a PM

As someone said earlier, you have to keep switching up your workout routine to keep things fresh. It could be as easy as switching from a bar to dumbbells, though (for bench press, at least).

As far as supplements, I've never been a real fan of Creatine and NOXplode. The way I figure it, I don't think I'll ever get to a point where I need those to keep improving.

One thing that I do, though, is a really simple shake after a hard workout. I've tried all the different protein powders and stuff, but this was the only thing that noticeably helped me. I would mix a half serving of protein powder (for me it was not quite one scoop) and then another not-quite-a-scoop of Carnation instant breakfast. Pack that mixture into my little plastic shaker and throw that in my bag so I could put some water in there and drink it right after my workout.
The explanation I read was that right after a hard workout, your muscles are starving for nutrition (not just protein, but carbs, fat, everything). If they don't get it within 30-45 minutes after exercise, they look inside the body to break down tissue to feed on. Drinking my little concoction is just a balanced meal in liquid form (liquids are absorbed faster). By drinking that, you're giving your body the nutrition it needs to start rebuilding immediately. I've seen my recovery time get noticeably shorter after doing this.

All you need is to drink a lot of water, take some protein if you don't get enough throughout the day. Multi is good, fish oil can not hurt if you don't eat a lot of fish. No need for any other supplements, they are pretty pointless and expensive. Coffee works as good as that NO explode stuff people have been mentioning. Cheaper too.

Stick to a routine. While some are better than most, consistency is key. Any workout is better than not working out. Health and fitness is pretty simple. Meat and veggies, fruits and nuts, whole grain, good fats. Walk, run, sprint, swim, bike, row, lift.

My only suggestion is that when you lift, do big compound lifts, Squat, deadlift, press, bench, row, pull ups, push ups, cleans, etc. Also, if you're just starting back up

Crossfit is a very good routine if you a.) don't have a lot of time, b.) suffer from workout ADD, or c.) hit a plateau. They have plenty of workouts and they post them free. If you decide to do big compound lifts, I suggest looking up and/or getting Starting Strength by Mark Ripptoe. It goes over form pretty in depth and explains why lifts like that are better for your overall health and curls and tricep extensions. You'll see more gains in less time.

Just stick with it.

Actually caffeine and NO have completley different effects. Caffeine constricts blood vessels while NO helps to open them for better blood flow. Caffeine raises blood pressure while NO has been shown to lower blood pressure.

King

I do switch up. I have a group of exercises I like to do for each part, and just switch it up each time I go. There's probably a lot I like to do each time, but may just change 1 exercise. Or one routine I like to do for example with bi's would be to start off with dumb bell curls, then straight bar preacher curls. Then next time I'll reverse with straight bar curls and dumb bell preacher curls.

I also have a bad shoulder, which makes it tough with some exercises. I've become reliant on using the Smith press for my chest and shoulder press workouts a lot instead of traditional bench. I occasionally do dumb bells, but what happens is my right shoulder kind of locks up and pops out, and I end up dropping the weight obviously. Which is why I use the Smith press. At least if it happens with a dumb bell, it just hits the ground.