Weight Lifting Supplements 101

If you currently lift weights or may be thinking about starting, then this information will help you out tremendously. Supplements are not necessary for muscle growth. They do though aid in muscle recovery, endurance, and performance. I guess you could say indirectly they promote muscle growth. If you look at pictures of body builders today and compare them to those of the 50s you will see a dramatic difference. You can calculate this difference comes from increase in knowledge of health and fitness, improvements in weight lifting equipment, and supplements. There are several supplements you should stay away from, certain brands you should stay away from, and combinations you need. I am pretty sure the professional body builders are tested for steroids. I believe their success comes from mostly their diet, second their training, and third the supplements they take. Here is a simple explanation and break down of supplements based on my personal experiences. I have had great success from some. I have had medical problems from some. Some flat out didn't work. I will say everyone's body is different, your body will accept supplements in different ways.

Protein is the most important thing in the world when it comes to building muscle. This is the key elements. Without protein, your workout was just to kill time.

The best form of protein is natural protein you get from foods. They say you should eat 1 gram of protein for every pound you weigh, but I personally think you should add about 50 grams to that if you really want to build muscle.

I only suggest taking 2 protein shakes a day. Not because taking more would put your health at risk, but because the majority of your protein intake should come from food i.e. chicken, turkey, tuna, salmon, etc.

It is kind of hard to go wrong when buying protein. Things to try to keep in mind when choosing one is that you really want a combination of protein. Instead of 100% whey, 100% egg, or 100% soy, try to find one with multiple types of protein in it.

If weight loss is a big goal for you as well as building muscle then also take a look at the fat, sugar, and carb content in the protein.

My suggestions are EAS protein in the purple tub, BSN Syntha-6, Muscle Milk, and Isopure. Please note that the muscle milk has a lotof stuff in it and is not the best choice if you want a lean protein.  Isopure would be my choice if you would rather have a juice than shake protein.

Cell Mass by BSN also has protein in it but it is for you skinny people who need to gain weight.

I almost forgot. Herbalife makes a protein shake that is absolutely hands down the best tasting one I've ever had. Herbalife is a company that makes all kinds of diet pills and vitamins. They are kind of operated like Avon, or Mary Kay. You will not find them in GNC. They are not really in the weight lifting supplement game but they have a protein and its great.

Besides protein powders/shakes their are other alternatives such as protein jelly beans, gel, bars, and other kinds of things. I have only tried the shakes, juices, and bars. I have not tried the jells, candy, or other foods. If you have tried them let me know what you think.

Taking a Multi-Vitamin is essential for you if you want to stay healthy and get the most out of your hard work and time spent sculpting your body. There is no need to get crazy with it. When taking vitamins just keep it simple. Anyone that you take should do the trick but the best for your money is GNC Mega Men. GNC's Mega Men Multi-Vitamin ranked top 5 in a world competition for best vitamin. You need to take these with food. I usually feel a little sick if i take it on an empty stomach or with just water. Fish oil is a pretty good addition to your diet and you will probably hear it thrown out in a sales pitch by your local annoying GNC employee. If you want to take it then buy Mega Men joint, which contains it.

Creatine works by sending the water in your body to fill your muscle cells. This action makes your muscles visually appear bigger for about two hours, and give your muscles more endurance so you can do a few more reps than you would normally be able to do. One important thing to keep in mind when taking creatine is that you want to drink plenty of water throughout the day. Pure Creatine monodhydrate only has about a 20% absorption rate and take about 30 minutes to kick in.

The best way to go is to use Kre-Alkalyn. Kre-Alkalyn does the same thing as creatine monohydrate but has a 100% absorption rate and works in about 10 minutes. I've found that creatine powders taste really bad and gritty no matter what you put it in. Kre-Alkalyn pills are my favorite. Creatine can really only cause problems if you take more than you are supposed to and if you don't drink enough water before and after taking it (throughout the day). Keep in mind that the water you drink today is what you will you the next day. So If you did not hydrate the day before taking Kre-Alkalyn or Creatine than your going to be hurting. Creatine is naturally occurring in many foods, one in particular being chicken.

Kreation is an amazing product that works wonders. I cannot be happier with this. Almost everyone who takes it loves it. Kreation is a Kre-alkalyn product with a combination of amino acids and caffeine in it to make it even more effective.

Nitric Oxide is a supplement you take before your workout. Nitric Oxide works by increasing the Volume of your vascular system. By enlarging your veins by up to a third of their size more blood flow is going to your muscles. The more blood flow you have to your muscles the better your workout will be. You will have more strength, more endurance, faster recovery, and probably not get muscle failure or fatigue as fast. Also, all of the other supplements you are taking while taking Nitic Oxide will be able to travel to your muscles easier and faster or wherever it is that they are traveling in your body. The main active ingredient in Nitic Oxide is L-Arginine. L-Arginine can be purchased in its pure state at GNC if you wish to leave out the other stuff Nitic Oxide has in it. I will tell you though that the L-Arginine won't have as high of a dosage as the Nitric Oxide would.

I suggest Nitrox by Sci-Fit. No. Xplode also works well to give you a pre-workout pump, but may cause upset stomach or make you have bad gas. Recently there has been a new supplement in the game that claims to work better than No. explode. It is called Jack3ed. Jack3ed claims to give you the same results just faster, better, stronger, and without any side effects. They also say you wont get used to it and lose that pump feeling. I've tried both Jack3ed and No. Xplode. I like them both, take whatever works for you. If you try No. Xplode I would go with the blue raspberry flavor. If you choose Jack3ed I like lemon lime and they have a bubble gum flavor I believe that sounds promising.

Testosterone Boosters are probably the least needed supplement in my opinion. Some people though that have a hard time getting bigger may have low testosterone levels and may need it. I have taken them before and I liked them. I didn't have any health problems from them and thought they were a good addition to my diet. I suggest T-500 Extreme or T-max. T-Max has two pills. One you take before your workout or in the morning, and one you take before you go to bed. Don't get it confused though. These are not steroids. They are not Testosterone in a pill. The ingredients used in these simply promote your body to produce more of its testosterone.

Fat burners are probably one of the most ridiculous things out there. 99% of them are just a waste of money. I don't suggest using them. Some of them DO work, but I feel like fat burners are purchased by people looking for some miracle pill to help them lose 30 pounds overnight without having to workout. Truth is, there is no simple solution or pill to anything. Hard work, sweat, and eating right is what is going to make you lose weight. Some Weight loss pills work by making you lose a lot of water weight, and some do help burn fat and speed up your metabolism. The only one I would ever suggest if you wish to take one is HydroxyCut Hardcore. It will be taken 30 mins before cardio. Like other supplements make sure your hydrated because it is going to make you hot and increase your heart rate. DO NOT take hydroxycut hardcore and not work out. If you take it you must workout.

I almost forgot. I had to come back and edit this. There is one product I suggest over hydroxycut hardcore. That is pro cuts, which will kind of help with water weight, burning fat, and increasing your metabolism.

Some post workout products I like and what they do.

PM Protein - Not a necessity but does help. PM protein is taken before bed and breaks down very slowly while your sleeping. Remember your muscle grow when your sleeping not working out. PM protein is there while your sleeping to help rebuild your muscles.

HALO - Halo is crazy. Halo helps with muscle recovery and growth apparently. It has a list of Ingredients that rivals Obama's health care bill in length, which scares me, but I haven't had anything negative to say about it besides it makes me have to pee a lot. I am not a big Muscle Tech fan but Halo is OK in my book.

BCAA - A must have. BCAA is depleted from your muscles during your workout and needs to be replaced afterwards.

L-Glutamine - Sorry to be short about it but, "same as above"

http://www.scifitauthentic.com/

By far my favorite supplement brand is Sci-Fit. I first found out about Sci-Fit when I worked at Dicks Sporting Goods. I was in the baseball section and a well dressed man came up to me and asked if I could help him pick out a glove for his son. I did so then he asked if I played sports and I told him I wrestled and was training for football. He told me he was the manager of a GNC not too far from where I live and to come by and he would give me some stuff to help me out. So I went their and almost all of the products he suggested were Sci-Fit. He said Sci-Fit was pretty new and the best in the business, but not a lot of people know about them. I got a 50% discount and went home. The next couple of months I lifted and tried these products and had great results. I began researching their products and found out that their whole team of group that runs the company is body builders or ex-body builders. I also learned that they do not advertise. They rely solely on success of their product to make money and spread the word. It sounds like a good way to advertise because it is happening right now.

BSN is another good line of supplements.

These are some products, items, or brands to stay away from either because they don't work, or cause problems.

Gakic

Lukic

Cell Tech

MuscleTech products (most of them) (excluding HALO, hydroxy cut hardcore, and their protein)

Energy Drinks (Monster, Red Bull, Full Throttle, etc,) (they are terrible for you)

Too much caffeine (be aware of how much you take in. Certain things contain caffeine that you wouldn't expect)

Too much sugars

FDA - please not that most if not all of the supplements you will see in the stores and online say *these statements have not been approved by the FDA. If you ask me this means nothing to me because of how corrupt that agency is. Do not worry about this when choosing supplements.

 You can buy supplements at walmart, Walgreen's, CVS, GNC, Vitamin World, or online at www.Bodybuilding.com.

I don't like GNC because they are kind of expensive and the people working their think they know more than you and try to sell you all kinds of unnecessary things.

Bodybuilding.com sells everything, has fast delivery, and great prices. They also usually have some kind of free stuff they send you.

Here is a quick list for you of what you should take when trying to gain muscle. The items in parentheses are choices to pick from. You only need one from each category.

Protein (EAS, BSN, Muscle Milk, Herbalife)

Nitic Oxide (No Xplode, Nitrox, Jack3ed, L-Arginine)

BCAA AKG 1000 (by Sci-Fit)

Glutamine AKG 1000 (by Sci-Fit

Multivitamin (Centrum, Mega Men)

Kre-Alkalyn (Kre-Alkalyn 1500, Kreation)

Optional

Post workout drink (Halo)

Testosterone Booster (T-Max, T-500 Extreme) 

Fat Burner* (Pro Cuts, Hydroxy Cut Hardcore)

*on your cardio days