Hey everyone, I’m an Olympic weightlifter who just got a sponsorship that turned out to be more generous then expected. Besides the obvious, such as competition expenses (travel, hotel), lots of good natural food and rehabilitation methods (massage, sauna ect…) im looking to add something to my list of supplement.
I currently take multi-vitamins (lots of D), whey protein and multidexterin/dextrose after training sessions, creatine, glutimine, casien protein before bed, rodiola roseia, and occasionaly l-carnitine (a few weeks before competiton) and of course an omega-3 supplement.
Obviously as an Olympic-lifter my main goal is an increase in strength, but I would also like to improve my body comp as its a weight-class sport.
The options that I am thinking about adding are BCAAs or beta-alanine, im also considering a testosterone booster (but i am only 20 years old with out any obviouse hormone problems)
what are your thoughts on these and I’m always open to other suggestions
i forgot to add in that I also take ZMA on a regular basis, as well as melatonin pills on rare occasion when I cant sleep or have to travel across time zones.
BCAAs definitely good for during workouts…I don’t know if beta-alanine would be the best choice for you, seeing it’s more for higher rep ranges, but then again, it’s not like it’ll HURT you to take it…
A choline supplement, preferably Alpha-GPC (Available in the T-store), are good for strength IMO.
The supplement ‘Power Drive’ is an alternate choline supplement with tyrosine, PC, and B6; pretty good for strength and also helps a bit with recovery (To my knowledge, the former does not)
Both can be used together (The former for pre-workout and the latter for recovery), just cut back if you get headaches (To my knowledge, is a sign of too much choline in general)
As for both strength and body comp, I don’t think caffeine would hurt.
I’ll edit this post if I come up with other strength supplements, but that is all I can think of that you are not taking at the moment.
[quote]tork94 wrote:
The options that I am thinking about adding are BCAAs or beta-alanine, im also considering a testosterone booster (but i am only 20 years old with out any obviouse hormone problems)[/quote]
You’ll get more results for your money by going with MAG-10 instead of BCAA.
MAG-10 is full of BCAA as well as all other essential amino acids.
I would cross check any potential supplements to make sure you don’t get something that is banned as a doping substance (so, like, no ephedrine to cut fat).
Beta-alanine is supposed to help strength endurance, but I’ve read it can take a month before muscles get saturated with it… but it probably couldn’t hurt.
If recovery is a problem, something like MAG-10/ANACONDA w/ citrulline malate and all that other stuff.
thanks for the ideas guys, i think im going to go with moderate doses of BCAAs as it seems relativity economical, and just an overall “safe” pick (i have never heard a really bad review for BCAAs) and im planning on dropping a few pounds over the next 5 weeks to make it easier to fit in to the 94kg class.
im planning on taking 5 gram servings right when I wake up(or if I wake up in the middle of the night), before trianing, and during training and then having my PWO shake with the carbs and whey right after.
My last question is that I sometimes train twice in one day, would it be fine to take the BCAAs before and during BOTH training session (which would make it 5 servings a day)?
[quote]tork94 wrote:
thanks for the ideas guys, i think im going to go with moderate doses of BCAAs as it seems relativity economical, and just an overall “safe” pick (i have never heard a really bad review for BCAAs) and im planning on dropping a few pounds over the next 5 weeks to make it easier to fit in to the 94kg class.
im planning on taking 5 gram servings right when I wake up(or if I wake up in the middle of the night), before trianing, and during training and then having my PWO shake with the carbs and whey right after.
My last question is that I sometimes train twice in one day, would it be fine to take the BCAAs before and during BOTH training session (which would make it 5 servings a day)? [/quote]
A 5 gram serving of BCAA is relatively small. If you are going the BCAA route, I recommend 10-12 grams per serving minimum.
Then again, I really recommend going with something like MAG-10 over BCAA anyway. Take it at the same times you’ve outlined for BCAA and you’re implementing protein pulsing.
If you respond like I do, you’ll see significantly better results this way.