I’ve always been an aerobic athlete, used to run a lot of 5-10K races, but recently decided to improve strength or size. It’s a challenge because I’ve always been small, and especially weak in the upper body.
I started a program 4 weeks ago, took some numbers for the first time since I started my program; my fat weight is consistent (-0.05 lb difference), while my lean mass has increased by 5 lbs. (Still only ~5’8" 170 lb)
Now that I have some base strength for a program, I’ve decided to go for the mass.
I’ve been taking 20g of protein (bar) immediately after each workout and it helps tremendously. The one time I missed my protein I felt like hell the next day.
Now I decided I want to try supplements for the first time in my life.
I’m considering whey protein, L-glutamine, and BCAAs.
Does anyone have suggestions for pre- or post-workout?
The 20g protein bar post workout isn’t going to make a differnce–think of the way you eat on long term basis
EX: a whole day’s worth of food as opposed to a meal (in this case, the 20g protein bar)
You don’t need BCAA’s or glutamine–maybe if you’re dieting down to really low levels but otherwise, waste of money IMO unless you’re doing Intermittent Fasting.
[quote]Fezzik wrote:
WTF are you talking about BU? 20g of protein is the amount usually used in studies that has been shown to help stimulate protein synthesis.
[/quote]
cool story bro, and good job missing the whole point of his post
[quote]BuildingUP wrote:
You don’t need BCAA’s or glutamine–maybe if you’re dieting down to really low levels but otherwise, waste of money IMO unless you’re doing Intermittent Fasting. [/quote]
QFT
Pre-workout? Stims if you need/like them. Post workout? Personally, I take 2 scoops xtend. Also 1 scoop between meals. Other than that I’d say creatine mono and beta-alanine and you’re good to go.
Think of whey protein as a food, not a supplement, because that’s what it is. It’s made by separating the curds from the WHEY in milk. There are different ways that whey can be processed (isolate, hydrolyzed, concentrate, etc), but that’s basically it.
BCAA’s and glutamine are not likely to have a tremendous affect (probably not noticeable at all) but they’re not going to hurt you. Creatine will certainly help, and I’d recommend that over any other supp, especially since it’s cheap.
As for pre workout, carbs and protein. Same post workout. MAG-10, Anaconda, Surge are good choices. I’m a fan of Surge for skinny guys, I think it works well. For awhile I was using Surge Workout Fuel pre/during workout, and Surge Recovery afterward, and got a lot out of it, and it was relatively inexpensive. Again, these sorts of things are better placed in the category of ‘food’, but they’ll benefit you more than other supplements.
As I noted initially, it DOES have an impact on my recovery.
Yes, I should have mentioned this from the go, but I am good with my diet, doing my own experiments. Thanks for pointing that out as it is the most important thing.
I’m going to assume your whole day/week nutrition is spot on before you are worrying about peri-workout nutrition. That being said I think its a good idea to have plenty of bcaa’s in your bloodstream as you are training and upon completion lots of quick digesting carbs and whey isolate. I’m not a fan of a carb heavy approach before training b/c it doesn’t work for me, I just feel sluggish.
Ultimately you gotta use several approaches and see what works best for you. Gathering ideas from successful posters is a good starting point.
I agree. I prefer science-based explanations as starting points, but I love experimenting with myself and hearing experiences through application.
Thanks for the thoughts.
I’ve decided on a pre-workout of 3-5 g creatine mono, along with about ~10 g of protein and ~25 g high index CHO, and a post-workout of ~20 g protein and ~25 g CHO.
4 days of 20 g creatine loading (4/5g). Carbs will be real food, no sugars in my powder. Protein will be a combination of bars and Grow.
As I noted initially, it DOES have an impact on my recovery.
Yes, I should have mentioned this from the go, but I am good with my diet, doing my own experiments. Thanks for pointing that out as it is the most important thing.
I think I agree, I’m looking for a more broad well-rounded approach and I think this will work. Thanks.
I’ve always been on the fence about creatine. I think I’m going to try it.
Thanks for the posts, keep reading![/quote]
Its either the placebo effect, or some sort of injury/fatigue/dietary related component.
A 20g protein bar is going to make an absolutely negotiable impact on your recovery, unless of course youre getting effectively no protein in your diet (the entire day) whatsoever.
Your body was designed to store nutrients for a decent amount of time, so as long as you had protein at breakfast/lunch/dinner etc there should be adequate building blocks for recovery. Im not saying a 20g protein bar isnt going to help (even if its ingredients are most likely crap), but its not going to have some game changing effect on you. I promise
[quote]Its either the placebo effect, or some sort of injury/fatigue/dietary related component.
A 20g protein bar is going to make an absolutely negotiable impact on your recovery, unless of course youre getting effectively no protein in your diet (the entire day) whatsoever. [/quote]
It’s the way my diet is structured, it is a type of fasting approach where my eating window is a few hours beyond my workout.