I am about to order some supps and i dont know what i need to get. I usually just buy a whey protein powder and sometimes buy a protein blend (like muscle milk).
was thinking about getting BCAA’s or just L-leucine or whatever. Also, is it worth buying maltodextrin? I don’t know much about supplements and/or pre/peri/post workout nutrition.
this is a very difficult question to answer with the limited amount of information you gave.
age?
weight?
years of lifting experience and best lifts?
goals?
current diet?
in general, the basics of any supplement program are a good multi, whey protein, and fish oil.
Meh…I’d just buy some whey protein, fish oil. Peri-post workout drinking. Maybe some caffeine pills or a good stimulant (Spike Shooters!) oh Metabolic Drive Complete>muscle milk.
Metabolic Drive or GROW! Bioactive Whey and Flameout/FA-3. I use a scoop of L-Leucine with every meal Monday thru Friday. It makes me feel like I’m getting somewhat of a nutritional benefit even if I grab something a little unhealthy for a meal like pizza or a cheeseburger or some such thing.
D
First of all, you don’t have your daily nutrition in line yet.
So, fix that before stressing too much about supplements. With that said…
[quote]boredlifter789 wrote:
I am about to order some supps and i dont know what i need to get. I usually just buy a whey protein powder and sometimes buy a protein blend (like muscle milk).[/quote]
You, and your wallet, would be better served getting one high-quality protein, instead of “sometimes whey and sometimes a blend like muscle milk.” Metabolic Drive or Metabolic Drive Complete would be ideal here. Good calories and great protein to have during the day.
I never really saw tremendous results with supplemental BCAAs. Popping a handful of tablets several times a day was less-than-convenient, too. But some people do respond well to them, usually when cutting.
I haven’t gotten around to experimenting with Leucine by itself, but again, some people do notice results while cutting. It would serve as nutritional insurance when bulking, too.
No, it isn’t. Maltodextrin by itself means you’ll have to create your own mixes. If you’re into that, that’s one thing, just seems like an extra step to me. And even then, it isn’t an ideal carb source during the day or post-workout.
All the peri-workout nutrition info you can handle, and then some:
http://tnation.tmuscle.com/free_online_forum/sports_body_training_performance_bodybuilding_thibaudeau/questions_about_paraworkout_nutrition
http://tnation.tmuscle.com/free_online_forum/sports_body_training_performance_bodybuilding_thibaudeau/new_protocol_we_are_experimenting_with
Thibaudeau had an original protocol, but he’s been tweaking it even further, playing with the what, when, and how much, over the last few weeks.
For reference, in my own training, recently I’ve settled into 1 scoop Surge Workout Fuel about 30 minutes before training and 1 scoop Surge Recovery during training.
If I’m feeling perky and plan on going 106%, I’ll add a scoop of Surge Recovery to the SWF. And if I’m training first thing in the morning, like on a weekend, I’ll have a Finibar as “breakfast” about an hour before the session/30 minutes before the SWF. It’s all really easier than it sounds. (Did I just hijack my own reply? I think I might’ve.)
Anyway… for you, since you’re looking to gain size, I’d say phase one is Surge Recovery before and during your workout. If your budget allows it, add in Surge Workout Fuel pre-training.
To recap, since you’re looking for size, I suggest (in order of priority): Food, Metabolic Drive or Metabolic Drive Complete, Surge Recovery, Surge Workout Fuel.
“Health” supplements like Flameout, FA-3, and Superfood would come in second, in terms of bang for your buck.
Thanks so much for your replies guys.
So basically, if i do plan on spending money on supplements, i should just spend it on protein powder and Surge Recovery/Surge Workout Fuel?
If this is the case, which protein powder do i buy? I usually order from bb.com, but i am thinking about ordering some Metabolic Drive or Grow! Whey. Which do i choose (an explanation would be helpful)?
Also, what is the difference between the two Surge products?
Last two questions…should i buy Superfood and what does it do? Also, after a workout, i have been told that your body needs sugars/simple carbs?, so in my postworkout shake i add berries. would this be a good idea or no?
What is your goal? Lose fat? Gain muscle? Gain fat AND muscle? Lose fat AND muscle?
Age?
Weight?
Current Diet?
Supplements are only that - supplements. I’d pay more attention to the food you eat, rather than the supplements.
Whey after a workout.
Casein before bed.
Fish Oil, some joint support supplement, a multi-vitamin if you don’t eat enough vegis. Keep it simple.
I would buy Metabolic Drive or Grow! Whey if they sold it in larger containers. i have yet to try Surge Workout Fuel but Surge Recovery is awesome.
Alright, i guess i shouldnt worry about supplementation all that much, and that i need to work on my diet.
My goal is to get to 175 lbs (short term goal obviously). I am at 158-162 right now, at 5’10.
Bench: 175
Squat: Knee is messed up but i can hit like 175x5 probably
Deadlift: (started about 3 months ago) 245x5
My lifts are not impressive at all, and have actually lowered a bit, but thats because i started to lift and eat inconsistently. I need to get that back in check.
So for now, i think im going to buy a tub of Grow! Whey, Metabolic Drive, and some Surge Recovery? Thats nearly 90 dolalrs though, if i had to take one of those things out, which would be best?
Metabolic Drive Complete is a damn good deal at 22$ a tub. I go through a tub a week, it’s better than any whey protein I’ve ever had. If you want to get to 175 lbs mix 160z of milk with a serving of Metabolic Drive and add some olive oil for nearly 800 cals of quality. Do this after bfast and before you go to bed. Get both kinds of Surge, then maybe 1 tub of whey to have in the middle of your day and Surge for before/after your workouts.
- Surge Recovery
- Metabolic Drive
- Surge Workout Fuel
- Some whey
That’s the order I’d go.
[quote]boredlifter789 wrote:
Thanks so much for your replies guys.
So basically, if i do plan on spending money on supplements, i should just spend it on protein powder and Surge Recovery/Surge Workout Fuel?
If this is the case, which protein powder do i buy? I usually order from bb.com, but i am thinking about ordering some Metabolic Drive or Grow! Whey. Which do i choose (an explanation would be helpful)?
Also, what is the difference between the two Surge products?
Last two questions…should i buy Superfood and what does it do? Also, after a workout, i have been told that your body needs sugars/simple carbs?, so in my postworkout shake i add berries. would this be a good idea or no?[/quote]
Surge Recovery already has carbs. You shouldn’t need Superfood unless you aren’t eating fruits/veggies. I would recommend the Surge Recovery along with some fish oil and spend the rest of your money on food.
[quote]boredlifter789 wrote:
So basically, if i do plan on spending money on supplements, i should just spend it on protein powder and Surge Recovery/Surge Workout Fuel?[/quote]
Yep. A good protein powder to have during the day, and Surge to have specifically when you do your weight training.
And get your food in order.
Basically Metabolic Drive is a combination of whey and micellar casein, which is slower-digesting, so you’re getting a variety of high quality protein absorbed into your system over a longer period of time. Grow! Whey recently revamped the formula to include bioactive fractions, which basically absorbed very quickly and very efficiently.
Surge Recovery is the basic formula, with the best protein, aminos, and carbs that you need to recover from training. With more than 300 calories per serving, it’s also the choice you want when you want to gain muscle.
The biggest benefit of Surge Workout Fuel comes from the combination of citrulline malate, leucine, and beta-alanine, which work together to have you recovering between sets faster and training even harder. It also includes specialized carbs and electrolytes to handle intense workouts while minimizing fatigue.
Superfood is a concentrate of super-high antioxidant fruits and vegetables. The benefit is that two little scoops of Superfood contains higher amounts of more diverse fruits and veggies than most people could hope to eat on a daily basis. It’s great for a bunch of health benefits, you know, the old “well-balanced nutrition” idea that many people overlook.
You already seem to eat a fruit of vegetable with each meal which, again, is more than most people, but if it’s in your budget, it’s always a good idea.
This is the whole peri-workout concept you were asking about earlier. If your preworkout and during workout nutrition is in order, then postworkout nutrition isn’t as important at all. But if you’re not using any pre- or during workout shakes, then you do want something after you train. Berries are better than nothing, but it depends on what else is in the shake.
Of those three, I’d go without the Grow!, only because Metabolic Drive would be the protein you’re already having throughout the day. Drinking Metabolic Drive and Grow! Whey during the day is like bringing a gun and a knife to a gunfight. It’s not exactly a bad idea, it’s just overkill.
But if money is seriously an issue, Grow! Whey was designed to be the more economical choice. Like the Grow! article said, Metabolic Drive would be the Ferrari, but Grow! is the Dodge Challenger with the hemi engine.
^^Thanks man, you made choosing my supps way easier and explained what each did for me, although i couldve done that, but you saved me heaps of time.
I ended up ordering 2 Chocolate Metabolic Drive Completes, and 1 Surge Recovery. Which totalled to 77 dolalrs, which is a lot, but it should last me about 1-2 months.
Just a couple more questions. When the supp’s arrive, is there anything i should add to the supp’s? And also, i noticed that the surge recovery is only 15 servings… i probably should’ve ordered 2 of those and 1 Metabolic Drive…
When i take the Surge recovery, do i just take that, or should i add some thing to the shake to make it more efficient and better for a post workout shake?(such as berries or carbs or something, but like you said before, theres already everything you need, so i guess i asnswered my own question haha)
Also, when i run out of Surge recovery, would taking Metabolic Drive be fine post workout? And what should i add to that to make it as good of a PWO drink?
thanks.
The Metabolic Drive is a great all around protein source. IN the past, I’ve always used it in the morning, as well as before bed, but then made use of straight Whey PWO. I recently read a few things that all seem to point to casein + whey being better PWO than just Whey alone (which isn’t a horrible thing, but is certainly news to me). As far as what to add to it PWO, definitely some sort of simple sugar. You can get a zillion different answers, but I’ve always been partial to the PWO Pop Tart -lol
S
Alright cool. Anyone got any good links that discuss post,peri, and pre workout nutrition. I am goin to search for it but im sure theres plenty of articles on it, just wondering which ones you recommend as a read.
And also, would frozen berries considered a good simple sugar?
[quote]boredlifter789 wrote:
Just a couple more questions. When the supp’s arrive, is there anything i should add to the supp’s?[/quote]
For the third or fourth time, the only other thing you need to sort out is your food. In your other thread, you were still confused about what to have for lunch. Is that fixed yet?
The fact that you seem to be worried more about supplements than food does not bode well.
What, exactly, did you eat yesterday?
Correct. Surge Recovery is all set by itself, mixed with plain water.
I’d say Metabolic Drive is “better than nothing” immediately after a workout. Ideally I’d have a faster-digesting protein like whey post-workout (Metabolic Drive is designed to be absorbed/digested slowly), but if it’s all you have, it’s all you have.
A PWO shake usually needs protein and simple carbs, with minimal fat, fiber, and complex carbs. In your situation, mixing Metabolic Drive with fruit juice, milk, or water and whole fruit would be okay.
I already answered this in my first post here, a few days ago, the first time you mentioned it.
Yep, they’re fine.