Alright my first time posting in this section of the forums. I feel as if the current stack I’m doing right now is lacking, or I’m missing out on some supplements that can give me increased gains.
Some info:
I train for strength/powerlifting. I’m 20 years old and have been lifting since frosh yr of high school and am currently a senior in college (7-8 years man I never realized how long its been!). I’m at 149 lbs. as of 2 mins. before this posting with gym lifts of a bench at 325, deadlift clean 475clean/500 hitched and I just hit squat last week with 395clean /405 not legal depth. I don’t consider myself an intermediate/beginner. If you need proof of my lifts, check out the Brotherhood of Iron section.
Anyways, my current stack is 100% ON whey(24g protein) and pure creatine monohydrate. I take the creatine before and after I lift and I make sure i get enough protein daily. I’ve tried 2 cycles of DAA Pure and honestly didn’t feel anything during the second cycle. I take a multivitamin that has like every single thing in the 1000+%'s and eat pretty healthy, I’m very weight conscious. So yeah, that’s all I take, any recommendations? Obviously if it isn’t broken don’t fix it but I definitely feel like there are some supplements I’m missing out on that could seriously give me crazier gains. Pricing isn’t really a factor as one of my buddies works for a supps. store so I could get some pretty nice discounts. Just nothing that’s like $50 for 2 weeks lol.
Side note, I only drink my protein immediately after my workout and thats it. I’ve read through the years mixed theories about consumption of protein volume so I generally just make sure i get at least 150g but no more really. Being a college student as well, there’s a ton of fast food thrown into my diet.
Thanks in advance for the help guys, really appreciate it
my stack is almost identical, except i take kre-alkalyn which i do not advise, it did absolutely nothing for me and i think im gonna try ON monohydrate, ive had much better results with them, i also take ON protein and they’re multi vitamins, i plan on starting to take fish oil as well. if it works i wouldnt do a thing, ive done some experimenting with supplements and with different programs and ive learned theres a lot that does not work, so if your progressing i would never change a thing. i used to take N.O. preworkouts, jack3d was pretty awesome, cellecor’s C-4 n.o. was very powerful but it turned me off pre workouts and pushed me towards a more natural energy approach, which is why i just stick to protein, creatine, and vitamins now
Oh beleive me I used the shit out of NO supps during High School. I’ve used N.O. Xplode, Gaspari Plasmajet,Axis Labs Hemodraulix, jack3d, K-Otic, and a tons of other shit I don’t really care to remember. In the end, they were all bullshit caffeine shit that made me crash really quick. Hence why I don’t use pre-workouts anymore. As for postworkouts, I’ve tried different brands/blends of protein but I keep coming back to the ON Whey for some reason.
I took fish oil for like 3 weeks as a liquid form, but I soon forgot about it and just really never felt an effect from it. I took pure bcaa’s along with glutamine for a couple of months but realized that was in my On Whey blend as well. Other than that, I haven’t tried anything else
I’ve had some friends recommend some PH’s or “minor” ones but I have no desire to manipulate my test. levels in that way unnaturally. I want to stay natural my entire life. Plus I’d be really lazy of taking a post-cycle of Tomaxofin or w/e it is they take. Shit sounds too scary haha
I assume your goal is to get stronger as you said you powerlift.
You should grab a bulk carb powder and pair it with your protein. you can continue to take it post-workout. Drink a ratio of 2-1 carbs: protein after your workout. Definitely utilize this time to take in plenty of carbs, especially if your goal is to gain size and strength.
Another supplement you could try is beta alanine, which is pretty solid- doesn’t do much for max strength in my opinion but will give you better endurance when you’re doing higher rep stuff or GPP work.
Honestly, there’s no supplement that can replace a solid diet. Consistently eat, recover, and train hard and you’ll get to where you want to be over time.
Yeah that’s pretty much what I’ve figured I should do. Nothing trumps the basics of eating, recovery, and hard work but I was just posting here to see if there was any supplement that I was missing out on to do, well, supplement my gains lol. As for the carbs, I don’t track those at all and have never seen the point personally for me to do so, all I really track is my protein intake.
Question though, why did I feel the effects of DAA Pure on my first cycle and not my second? Did my body adapt quicker to the increased test. levels? Is there a better natural test. booster on the market? Do test. booster make a significant difference? I pretty much bought DAA Pure off the recommendation of a few friends.
Eating the right ammount and types of real food will do WAY more for you than any combination of OTC supplements will ever do.
2)Having the right training program and working hard in the gym will do WAY more for you than any combination of OTC supplements will ever do.
3)Protein powder, creatine monohydrate, multivitamins, fish oil pills, and coffee/caffeine are all typical staple supplements. Even still, they are all far from neccesary. No need for anything else most of the time really. If you want to make a workout drink, just mix protein powder with a carbohydrate source and maybe add some creatine or caffeine…that’s basically what most commercial formulas are.
That’s fine I guess, but I’m making the suggestion to increase your carb intake peri-workout. Post training, you are more sensitive to insulin, one of the body’s most anabolic hormones. If you aren’t taking advantage of this time by ingesting carbohydrates, then you are really missing out on a good opportunity. You just don’t get very much insulin response with protein alone.
No telling why you didn’t feel anything the second time but at 20 years old, you probably have the highest natural test level that you will ever have in your entire life. DAA seems to work best with those who have lower test levels to begin with.
Do test boosters make a significant difference- no. Hate to break it to you, but natural test boosters just don’t do much. I’ve taken tribulus before and it seemed like I slept a little better and may have had a little more energy in the morning, but that could have been in my head.
I will say that if you plan on being competitive in powerlifting later in your life, you will probably want to gain some weight, unless that is, you are 5 feet tall.
Thanks for all the advice Dolce and Josh, really appreciate it. I read somewhere a while back since insulin sensitivity is higher after you workout, you should consumer some chocolate during this time. Is there any truth in that statement?
Also, I’ve never really looked into this but this just popped into my head. Would a fat burner or something strip off excess fat I have. I would like to be even leaner for the remainder of this summer because of the beach and stuff. Would this be recommended against? What detrimental effects would it have on my lifting? Keep in mind I lift for strength/numbers, not mass…