[quote]ethanwest wrote:
I have been using ZMA on and off for a couple of months and it works great, but differently than I expected. Ambien and other sleep aids are very helpful to get to sleep. ZMA doesn’t help me get to bed at all. I can take ZMA and stay awake lying in bed for hours not getting tired. However, if I take ZMA I don’t wake up at all during the night. If I don’t take ZMA, I usually get up at least once or twice during the middle of the night.
Does that seem to be everyone else’s experience as well?[/quote]
Its the magnesium that makes you tired. If you take anything with calcium before you take your ZMA the uptake of magnesium gets blocked.
[quote]tolismann wrote:
Is it a good idea to take a dose of ZMA immediately Post-WO?
(…in an effort to lower cortisol)[/quote]
The calcium in whey will inhibit absorption, I believe.[/quote]
Take ZMA immediately post-WO, 50’-60’ later drink, eat, etc…
[/quote]
Why? The peri-nutrition method has a long track record and the bedtime ZMA has a long track record. Why would you sacrifice your peri-workout nutrition, which could be the most important 3-4 meals you consume every week, for something that works better right brfore you go to bed anyways?
Take your ZMA right before you go to bed, Start with two caps and go to three if you need to, you probably won’t. It’s not that hard to avoid calcium for a couple hours before bedtime. It’s like doing a sommersault, whereas trying to get your ZMA in right after workout and then get a meal in in 50-60 minutes is like trying to do a quaduple backflip of a 30 Ft platform while people are throwing dodgeballs at you.
I am no expert, but I understand it induces REM sleep.
REM sleep is a stage of sleep where yuo have your most vivid dreams, whilst your mind processes memories, excretes hormones and generally ‘fixes’ everything up. It is, to be quaint, the only stge of sleep which leaves your mind content with the amount of overall sleep you have gotten. In other words, as long as you have the required amount of REM sleep, your mental state shouldnt be affected by the overall amount of sleep you receive.
It is good to note that naps in the middle of the day are usually REM sleep, which is why a siesta is so useful.
REM sleep comes at the end of your sleep cycle, so that is after stage 1, 2, 3, and 4. Some light sleepers only get stage 1 and 2 sleep, which means they never get to deep sleep or REM sleep, and tehy wake up feeling terribad. ZMA probably accelerates the sleep cycle so that the body gets to deep sleep, and then, later, REM sleep quicker.
Thats the problem with sleeping pills, they knock you out, but they dont assure you a good night of REM sleep.
[quote]tolismann wrote:
Is it a good idea to take a dose of ZMA immediately Post-WO?
(…in an effort to lower cortisol)[/quote]
The calcium in whey will inhibit absorption, I believe.[/quote]
Take ZMA immediately post-WO, 50’-60’ later drink, eat, etc…
[/quote]
Why? The peri-nutrition method has a long track record and the bedtime ZMA has a long track record. Why would you sacrifice your peri-workout nutrition, which could be the most important 3-4 meals you consume every week, for something that works better right brfore you go to bed anyways?
Take your ZMA right before you go to bed, Start with two caps and go to three if you need to, you probably won’t. It’s not that hard to avoid calcium for a couple hours before bedtime. It’s like doing a sommersault, whereas trying to get your ZMA in right after workout and then get a meal in in 50-60 minutes is like trying to do a quaduple backflip of a 30 Ft platform while people are throwing dodgeballs at you.
V[/quote]
My digestion is very poor the first 50-60’ post-WO.
I can’t eat/drink anything (Just electrolytes and water).
Don’t want to force anything down my throat just for the sake of peri-WO nutrition.
So I figured I’d take advantage of this 50-60’ timeframe by using ZMA to calm my nervous system and reduce the exercise-induced cortisol.
PS, I also use a dose before bed. That’s a staple.
[quote]forevernade wrote:
I am no expert, but I understand it induces REM sleep.
REM sleep is a stage of sleep where yuo have your most vivid dreams, whilst your mind processes memories, excretes hormones and generally ‘fixes’ everything up. It is, to be quaint, the only stge of sleep which leaves your mind content with the amount of overall sleep you have gotten. In other words, as long as you have the required amount of REM sleep, your mental state shouldnt be affected by the overall amount of sleep you receive.
It is good to note that naps in the middle of the day are usually REM sleep, which is why a siesta is so useful.
REM sleep comes at the end of your sleep cycle, so that is after stage 1, 2, 3, and 4. Some light sleepers only get stage 1 and 2 sleep, which means they never get to deep sleep or REM sleep, and tehy wake up feeling terribad. ZMA probably accelerates the sleep cycle so that the body gets to deep sleep, and then, later, REM sleep quicker.
Thats the problem with sleeping pills, they knock you out, but they dont assure you a good night of REM sleep.
tldr: ZMA is awesome.[/quote]
That’s a very interesting bit of information. I definitely have wild dreams every single time I take ZMA. And, even if I get 4 hours of sleep on ZMA I feel fantastic.
ZMA is a great supp but I seem to become tolerant to it very quickly. When I take it I get noticably better sleep for the first 2 nights and then BAM… absolutely nothing for the remainder of the cycle.
I find it much more effective to use it about 1-2 nights a week. Anyone else notice this?
[quote]supa power wrote:
ZMA is a great supp but I seem to become tolerant to it very quickly. When I take it I get noticably better sleep for the first 2 nights and then BAM… absolutely nothing for the remainder of the cycle.
I find it much more effective to use it about 1-2 nights a week. Anyone else notice this?[/quote]
I’m not saying I notice that exact thing, but like I said before, I usually only use it for a day or two when I’m run down. Maybe once I am well rested and feeling good I just don’t think about it, or maybe my body intuitavely forgets to take it because the effect has already ben achieved and further use would be a waste.
Seize, it is a mineral supllement, so it’s possible you get enough of the minerals in your diet that you are never deficient and thus, the supp just goes into the toilet. Also perhaps you have never tried it when you are dragging ass and tired for a day or two, I find that is when it’s most useful for me. Especially if you have a string of days when you are forced to just run ragged all day long.
So does anyone have any experience with Z-12, also is there any difference between Elite Pro Mineral Support and ZMA? They both are zinc/mag suppliments, but the come in different forms: aspartate vs glycinate chelate.
Someone from Biotest should really give us the low-down a comparison between those three supplements. This has been brought up several times, and none of those times it has been answered.
Can you/ is there point in stacking Z-12 with either of the zinc/mag supps. What is the difference between the two zinc/mag sups in their purpose?
EDIT:
"John M Berardi
Precision Nutrition Team
Post date: January 28th, 2010, 08:22 PM
I wouldn’t use them both on the same nite. ZMA’s high b-vitamin dose may negatively impact Z-12 efficacy."
[quote]forevernade wrote:
So does anyone have any experience with Z-12, also is there any difference between Elite Pro Mineral Support and ZMA? They both are zinc/mag suppliments, but the come in different forms: aspartate vs glycinate chelate.
Someone from Biotest should really give us the low-down a comparison between those three supplements. This has been brought up several times, and none of those times it has been answered.[/quote]