Supplements recommended and drinking

[Genius Josh]

Does anyone use and recommend any particular supplements to assist recovery and whatnot? I just stumbled across a Sydney based website which appears quite cheap when compared to my local health food store for a number of the things that they have on the shelf. No bull supplements ( anyone recomend or been disappointed by?)

I don't want to puff up like a steroid just looking to increase the power to weight ratio and hopefully ride a bit faster for longer. Not that I race but, I don't want to go down the Lance Armstrong side of allowed substance. I eat a fairly balanced diet but am not ready to give up the booze. I generally have 2 to or so beers after work and a wine with dinner and a scotch or rum after more often than not. Sometimes an i have an Afd or no wine or spirit. Is this a lot?

 

[driftking]

First up do you need supplements?
What is happening that makes you need them, are you finding you are not recovering, is your diet not sufficient enough to give you what you need?
There are lots of supplements but it really depends on what you want them for as you could need anything from a simple magnesium or a protein or a carb source. You need to know what you need out of the supplement before you decide to buy one.

You wont bulk up just by taking a supplement unless its a illegal steroid style drug and that still needs training you cant just sit on the couch and roid up. Supplements just help fuel you more efficiently in certain situations to improve your bodies recovery and performance but you still need to do the work to put on size so your training will dictate if you bulk up or not.

What is your specific goal of a supplement and why do you feel you need one?

 

[jackass'd]

**edit** I would first look at your actual diet before anything. It is amazing the results you can get from tuning that part of your workout first. Work on the theory that your results come from 70% what you eat & 30% your actual workout. Its really easy to ruin all your hard work by eating badly/poorly.

I recommend you do some proper research before taking anything. Everyone has different goals they wanna achieve, different workouts they do and how your body reacts to a product can be completely different to the next person.

I personal use a WPI (Whey Protein Isolate) powder & Magnesium Supplementation powder as a post work out mix. My naturopath & I tried a few different products & combinations but this seems to work best for me right now.

I also use Muscle Pharm's "Assalt" as a pre-work mix. The one big thing I love about this is that it has NO caffine or anything like that in it. I do use this for riding, but its not specifically designed for that. I use it for working out & Crossfit.

All I say is research. A post-workout supplement is probably more important than a pre-workout one. Its always for to get something into your body to help you & your muscles recover.

 

[Mywifesirrational]

Almost no marketed supplement is worth paying for, especially for recovery or sports performance, it's all a load of crap - eat a decent meal and lay on the couch. AIS athletes are typically not on the marketed stuff from a supplement shop. Most supplements are expensive placebos and/or band aid fix for a poor diet/training program.

Your diet is good, but you need to ensure you reach the nutritional levels and energy intake levels for someone who is athletically training and perhaps time carb intakes to compliment your training.

Also a correct training program should be the dominate focus for performance increase (complimented with diet).

 

[Pastavore]

Almost no marketed supplement is worth paying for, especially for recovery or sports performance, it's all a load of crap - eat a decent meal and lay on the couch. AIS athletes are typically not on the marketed stuff from a supplement shop. Most supplements are expensive placebos and/or band aid fix for a poor diet/training program.

Your diet is good, but you need to ensure you reach the nutritional levels and energy intake levels for someone who is athletically training and perhaps time carb intakes to compliment your training.

Also a correct training program should be the dominate focus for performance increase (complimented with diet).

Yup, MWI nails it again.

Most supplement companies will have "research" or "evidence" to back up their claims, but a critical analysis of the methodology will usually reveal the
weakness of the research.

Proper research reveals that the vast majority of supplements do nothing. Check the AIS website.

And for any athlete, it is worth remembering that the supplement industry is very poorly regulated and the risk of a supplement contaminated with a banned substance is not insignificant.

So eat and drink well, rest and sleep. If you have consistently poor recovery, chances are you are overtraining.

 

[Norco Maniac]

good hydration and magnesium do more for you post-workout than supplements. i'm horrified to read the labels of most of the stuff out there - the "fitness industry" is just that, a bunch of companies making money off the gullible.

if you're serious about riding, you're probably drinking too much alcohol, it disturbs the ATP cycle and slows muscle recovery. never forget it is a neurotoxin.

a smoothie made with home-brewed Kefir, bananas, LSA, raw honey, cinnamon, raw cacao, Maca and some plain pea protein (whey gives me the runs) works for me. i also use very diluted red grapefruit juice with a small pinch of sea salt instead of Gatorade or other commercial sports drinks. i've recently begun experimenting with coconut water on race days, the jury is still out on whether it's making a difference or not.

 

[Zam]

Celltech FTW!!!!





Not srs...

 

[Mywifesirrational]

Yup, MWI nails it again.

I always expect to get a plastering on here when I go against what I expect is going to be the general consensus .

i've recently begun experimenting with coconut water on race days, the jury is still out on whether it's making a difference or not.

I admittedly don't know to much about coconut water, but doesn't it normally have a reasonably high fat content (in relation to it's carb content)? Would this potentially mean it may limit sustained aerobic performance (vs a drink with no fat) as the fat content will slow the uptake / gastric emptying of carbs?

Celltech FTW!!!!

Not srs...

haha, I actually looked it up and with the results they have advertised perhaps we should.

SUBJECTS GAINED 3.4 LBS. OF MUSCLE IN 7 DAYS!1
Subjects who consumed the amount of creatine and carbohydrates supplied during the CELL-TECH loading stage (see directions) gained, on average, 3.4 pounds of muscle in
7 days. Subjects taking creatine with juice gained only 0.8 pounds.1

Except both creatine and carb loading results in the retention of large amounts of water, somehow I don't think they accounted for this. If i put on 2kg of muscle in the next 6 months I'll be deliriously happy, let alone in 1 week.

 

[steve24]

re- coconut water

coconut oils are MCT so supposed to be good for endurance sports...

 

[Norco Maniac]

I always expect to get a plastering on here when I go against what I expect is going to be the general consensus .

nah i beat you to it, i've been repeatedly slammed on here due to advocating a whole food diet and complementary therapies.

I admittedly don't know to much about coconut water, but doesn't it normally have a reasonably high fat content (in relation to it's carb content)? Would this potentially mean it may limit sustained aerobic performance (vs a drink with no fat) as the fat content will slow the uptake / gastric emptying of carbs?

you might be thinking of coconut cream. i used to drink coconut water when i was flat out at work (remedial massage) and didn't have time to eat. i thought i'd give it a go on race days as i find it very difficult to eat especially when i race two classes. i often only have time to change shoes (from clips to flats) grab some water then head up to staging again and it seems (so far) to be helping me with the short bursts of energy i need when doing 8 motos in a day. i'll also go through at least two litres of water on a hot day's racing but will still feel parched.

i don't normally drink any soft drink or sports drinks because i simply don't like the taste and softdrink gives me heartburn. and i can't see the point in the extra sugar in my diet. interestingly enough tho, twice during winter's racing i had a couple of mouthfuls of blue Gatorade and both times i got nasty asthma symptoms. i haven't had asthma for over 30 years....

for a day's racing i will usually pack bananas, dried figs, and nuts for me, bananas, muesli bars, home made banana muffins and fruit bars for the OH, and my aforementioned diluted red grapefruit juice. he likes his Gatorade and does pretty well on unsweetened pineapple juice as well. if it's the hour-long Sunday drive to racing i'll make bacon and egg wraps to eat on the way, if not it's just coffee and a handful of nuts and we'll eat after racing, usually steak and veggies because by then, i'm starving!

 

[crowash]

Fish Oil seems to have scientific merit and as someone who loaths most fish I take it regulalry and an occassional magnesium tablet. As previously discussed a healthy diet and you shouldn't need much more. I find increasing my intake of protein when I'm heavily in training assists my recovery.

 

[downhillar]

I don't want to puff up like a steroid

Oh man, if only it was that easy..

I generally have 2 to or so beers after work and a wine with dinner and a scotch or rum after more often than not. Sometimes an i have an Afd or no wine or spirit. Is this a lot?

That sounds like a fair bit to me if you're having that every night, that's almost as much as I'd drink in a month. The amount of sugar and carbs you'd be taking in each night from 2 beers, a wine and a scotch each night is probably pretty considerable, I've heard a couple of drinks is equivalent to eating another small meal (I'm sure someone will be able to clarify if I'm totally wrong there). Anyway if you're looking to lose a bit of weight this would be a great place to start

 

[driftking]

I always expect to get a plastering on here when I go against what I expect is going to be the general consensus .

nah i beat you to it, i've been repeatedly slammed on here due to advocating a whole food diet and complementary therapies.

Probably because of the crap hype out there mixed with the media pushing "the only way" type of treatments or diets.
The funny thing is when you dive into it it actually becomes easier when you can avoid all the hype bullshit.

 

[Zam]

I don't want to puff up like a steroid

Stay away from Celltech then......

 

[D-train]

Muscle Pharm Assault

**edit** I also use Muscle Pharm's "Assalt" as a pre-work mix. The one big thing I love about this is that it has NO caffine or anything like that in it. I do use this for riding, but its not specifically designed for that. I use it for working out & Crossfit.

All I say is research. A post-workout supplement is probably more important than a pre-workout one. Its always for to get something into your body to help you & your muscles recover.

Mate, one scoop of muscle Pharm assault has 250mg of caffeine, the ingredient it doesn't have is 1,3 Dimeth which is not allowed is Aus. Unless there is a caffeine free version that I dont know about.

As for supplements, I think Beta Alanine is good pre and during ride.

 

[Chil]

Having played a lot of sport at a high level in my early years as well as Kick boxing, I was taught by some experts that keeping things simple was always the best, what does that mean? Healthy diet and exercise = Healthy body, I never tried any supplements, they cannot be that good to your kidneys and liver. I never have had an issue with recovery or adding muscle mass with just increasing my protein and carb load (red meat and pasta and a banana smoothy after a work out)
A friend was recently telling me how amped up he got from one of his muscle pharm supplements he was taking, doesn't sound to healthy to me. Cutting back on the alcohol would be a good start, taking it slow and just improving your diet and exercise levels will be healthier for you in the long run. Short term gains tend to be only that short term.

 

[avantikid]

the best thing to do is eat healthy and SLEEP!! ALOT!!!

and maybe drink less...thats more a night then i drink a month, defs will not help you recover!

 

[lindz1817]

Having played a lot of sport at a high level in my early years as well as Kick boxing, I was taught by some experts that keeping things simple was always the best, what does that mean? Healthy diet and exercise = Healthy body, I never tried any supplements, they cannot be that good to your kidneys and liver. I never have had an issue with recovery or adding muscle mass with just increasing my protein and carb load (red meat and pasta and a banana smoothy after a work out)
A friend was recently telling me how amped up he got from one of his muscle pharm supplements he was taking, doesn't sound to healthy to me. Cutting back on the alcohol would be a good start, taking it slow and just improving your diet and exercise levels will be healthier for you in the long run. Short term gains tend to be only that short term.

^^^This exactly! Most suppliments just put increased stress on the liver and kidneys. I would generally try to keep it simple by eating as many different colours as possible. Might sound silly, but it's an easy way to reach a balanced diet with lots of fruit and veg without making it too complicated.

 

[bighit clarky]

Hello I thought I would ad my 20 cents worth, iam 42 years old and love mtb bike riding iam a single dad and I never have enough time to always have a good balance of sleep and healthy food, so straight after any exercise I do I have a protein powder ( any good brand with not much carbs ). Every day I have a multivitamin, fish oil and magnesium tablet aswell ( swisse ). I have done recently some 50km races ( for fun ) and my food I have before the race is some bread with chicken meat, cottage cheese and avocado on it, for drinks I have a small shot of beetroot juice plus Gatorade during the race and I all ways have enough energy for my race. The harder I train and more sleep I have the stronger I feel, I still believe I can gain muscle at my age. I know this might not work for everyone but it does for me.

 

[Jillkins]

Several people who want to take the supplement to develop the body muscles but problems is that some are not suit for the body therefore it is very dangerous effect for the kidney so before using this one consult the any physician doctors with better way.
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