Supplements I Use to Maximize Performance

You don't need to look hard to find negative publicity regarding PED's today in the wake of the issues in Major League Baseball and the fallout of Lance Armstrong. I am largely against the use of any illegal PED. The topic of PED's seems to be a very polarizing topic. There is the thought that professional sports should legalize them and allow any and all athletes to take them as they wish, some think the leagues should regulate them. Then, there are those who are strongly against the use of any form of PED's. Majority of PED's are illegal drugs throughout the United States. Their main purpose is in the medical world and many of them are synthetic. They also carry serious adverse effects if abused or taken in amounts other than prescribed.

The word supplement can mean two vastly different things to two different people. To me a supplement is just that - a legal nutrient or chemical that is used to supplement the nutrition of an individual. Personally, I categorize PED's (Performance Enhancing Drugs) completely separate from supplements. Now, not all supplements are naturally produced, much like many of the foods you buy at your local grocery store are not naturally produced. Just because a supplement or product is synthetically produced doesn't make it inherently bad or unhealthy. Ultimately, a naturally produced product will more times than not be better digested, better absorbed, higher in nutrient content, and more often then not, healthier overall. Personally, I think that what makes PED's so "bad," is the adverse side effects they can carry. PED's are just what the name implies, they are a drug. Some may argue that there is no difference between a supplement and a drug, but personally, I find a large difference between the two. Now, enough with my soap box rant supporting supplements. The main purpose was not to debate the difference between supplements and PED's, but to explain what and why I take to supplement my diet to get the most out of my training and performance.

Before I jump into my personal list of what I take, I want to give a warning regarding supplements. Not all supplements are created equal. The FDA does NOT regulate supplements. What that means, is supplement companies are not completely required to list all ingredients found in their supplement. What often happens, especially in the NCAA and professional sports is an athlete takes a supplement with no banned substances listed as an ingredient, but ends up testing positive for a banned substance that they never actually knew they took. Here is a good, short article about this situation and how to buy a quality supplement from a reputable company. "Marathoner's Death Highlights Health Risk of Some Supplements".

Below is a list of what supplements I take, when and how often I take them, how much I take, and why I take them.

Multivitamin

There are a TON of multivitamins available today at just about every single store across the country. Personally, I take a one-a-day vitamin to fill in the "holes" in my diet. A multivitamin is a good idea for just about everybody. It is very difficult to eat a perfect diet. A multivitamin is a relatively cheap way to get the necessary nutrients that your diet maybe missing. The vitamin I take is Alive! Once Daily Multi-Vitamin. This product is a one pill a day formula which is complete with 24 vitamins and minerals, 12 digestive enzymes, 14 greens foods, and 12 organically grown mushrooms. When looking for a multivitamin there is no need to look for the one that has the most ingredients, but look for a high quality vitamin. Spending a few extra bucks on a better vitamin will ultimately be worth it in the end. When you buy the cheaper option, it ends up being money down the drain - literally. I take my multivitamin at the start of my day with a meal and a full glass of water. You should always take your multivitamin with a meal as it will increase the absorption of the nutrients.

Beta-Alanine

 Beta-Alanine is a naturally occurring beta amino acid.  According to Wikipedia, Beta-Alanine is the rate-limiting precursor of carnosine, which is to say carnosine levels are limited by the amount of available beta-alanine.  Supplementation with beta-alanine has been shown to increase the concentration of carnosine in muscles, decrease fatigue in athletes, and increase the total muscular work done.  Carnosine acts as a buffer by helping neutralize the buildup of muscle acids (lactic acid) that occurs during high-intensity exercise.  The more carnosine you have, the better you're able to perform at a higher intensity.  I personally use Allmax Beta-Alanine.  The recommended use on the container (which you can see below) is 1 teaspoon (3.2g) up to twice a day.  This dosage (I feel) is more geared to the body building world, not necessarily endurance athletes.  I follow the dosing schedule set forth by PowerBar who makes a beta-alanine product that is slightly more expensive then the Allmax Beta-Alanine.  PowerBar suggests endurance athletes, whose season typically runs May-Sept, a month long loading phase beginning in February.  The loading phase consists of 2 doses at least 3 hours apart of 1.6g, making the total daily intake 3.2g.  At the end of the loading phase (end of February or 4 weeks) continue taking just 1 serving or 1.6g daily.  There are no specifics as to when this should be taken in relationship to your workouts, but I figure about one hour before would be beneficial, which is when I aim to take it when I am training.

Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA's)

 Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) are claimed to be the most beneficial and effective supplements in any sports nutrition regimen.  They are the "building block" of the human body.  BCAAs make up 35% of your muscle mass and must be present for molecular growth.  Of all amino acids, 8 are "essential amino acids," meaning the body can not produce them on its own and we need to obtain them by means of nutrition or supplementation.  The remainder of the amino acids are termed "non-essential amino acids," meaning the body can produce them on its own with proper nutrition.  Amino acids are responsible for building cells and repairing tissue,the formation of antibodies, they are part of the enzyme & hormonal system, they also build RNA and DNA, and they carry oxygen throughout the body.  On top of all those benefits, having amino acids available throughout your blood, you can stave off your body breaking down protein (lean muscle tissue) for energy.  During, long intense bouts of exercise, your body tends to deplete it self of glycogen stores.  After this occurs, your body searches for a new source of energy.  One of these sources is fat stores, but the other is the break down of your muscles, which is obviously not optimal.  When your body has amino acids floating throughout your system, your body can utilize them instead of breaking down the hard working muscles you need.  Personally I take approximately 5g of BCAA before each workout.  As my workouts become longer (over 3 hours) I will supplement amino acids during my workouts to maintain a level of amino acids throughout my system to prevent the breakdown of my lean muscle tissue.

Hammer Tissue Rejuvenator

This supplement comes in a capsule form and contains only natural ingredients. It reduces pain, inflammation, and swelling. This product can be taken to increase recovery from a specific injury as opposed to over-the-counter NSAIDs (Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs) which can have adverse effects on your liver and stomach. It can also be taken as a preventative to aid in general recover from intense workouts. Some of the ingredients in this product include Glucosamine Sulfate, Chondroitin Sulfate, MSM, a full blend of Enzymes, Devils Claw (anti-inflammatory), Yucca Root, and Turmeric, among others. My plan is to begin taking this supplement as a preventive to aide in total body recovery from long intense workouts come this summer, when my volume will be at an all time high. My plan is to take 1 capsule a day following workouts less than an hour in duration, 2 capsules after workouts less than 3 hours in duration, and 3 capsules after any workout longer than 3 hours.

Liquid Trace Minerals

I remember when I was in college taking courses to obtain my Exercise and Sports Science degree hearing my professor tell me that the majority of athletes, who eat a proper diet, get majority of there vitamins through nutrition but greatly lack in their minerals.  Each cell in the human body contains over 70 minerals, however, our daily foods can not always provide us with these vital nutrients.  This is especially true for athletes who train/workout on a daily basis.  This is because we often loose many of our minerals through the production of sweat.  Liquid trace minerals can help replace what is lost and what is missed in our diets.  These can boost energy and increase vitamin utilization and cell rejuvenation.  They can also support optimal hydration levels.  Supplementing with trace minerals is actually pretty cheap.  A bottle of trace minerals cost me just under $20.00, but has about 100 servings when used at the top end dosages.  Personally, I add about 20 drops to my 40oz water bottle that I try to drink everyday in addition to all the other liquids I take in.  A good way to determine how much water you should be taking in throughout a day is to multiply your body weight (in Kg) by 33-39 and that will give you a rage of mL you should aim for on a daily basis.  For me that's about 2550mL - 3015mL or about 85-100oz a day.

  

Amazing Grass - Greens Superfood Drink Powder

Granted, this probably isn't necessarily classified as a "supplement" per se, but for all tense and purposes, I chose to include it in my list.  A greens drink powder typically is made from whole fruits, vegetables, herbs, and you guessed it - greens.  The main purpose of a greens powder is to capitalize on the antioxidant properties of whole foods.  The unit of measure to describe the power/amount of antioxidants found in certain foods is called ORAC or Oxygen Radical Absorbency Capacity.  For example, a 3.5oz serving of carrots has 210 units per serving, plums - 949.  The Amazing Grass Greens Superfood Drink Powder contains 15,000 units in a single serving.  It is all from organic sources and also contains 3,985mg of alkalizing greens to help balance acidic pH levels.  One single serving of this drink can help achieve the recommended 5-9 daily servings of fruits an vegetables.  I buy the ORAC Greens SuperFood powder in the berry flavor and it actually tastes better than I expected.  I take one serving a day, everyday.

Fish Oil Capsules

I'm sure that most of you have heard that eating seafood, specifically fish, is a good, healthy, choice.  It's recommended to eat 1-2 servings of fish a week.  Not only is fish a lean source of protein, it also contains a high amount of extremely healthy omega 3 fatty acids.  Personally, I probably eat some form of seafood about 5-6 days a week in the form of tuna or salmon packets or tilapia and salmon fillets.  Omega 3 fatty acids have numerous benefits, as I have explained before in my Grocery Story Must Have posts.  But to breifly describe some of their benefits, they include: A decreased risk of heart disease, lower risks of cancer, lower risk of dementia, highly anti-inflammatory which can prevent arthritis, decrease joint tenderness and swelling, potentially could prevent diabetes, can improve symptoms of depression, and boost brain power.  When looking for a fish oil supplement, you get what you pay for.  A cheap fish oil supplement can be found in most all stores now (to take advantage of all the benefits), but the cheaper varieties can actually do more harm than good.  A poor quality fish oil supplement can actually become rancid due to poor handling practices.  So, I recommend either shelling out a little extra cash for a higher quality fish oil or just eating fish more often to take advantage of the omega 3 benefits.  Look for a fish oil supplement that clearly indicate the specific amounts of Omega 3 fatty acids.  Look for a supplement that has at least 400mg EPA and 200mg DHA.  It's recommended that you obtain a total of 1.1-1.6g of Omega 3 fatty acids each day.  I take 1 or 2 capsules a day with my meals to help achieve this level of fatty acids.  I take Carlson Super (or Elite) Omega 3 Gems Fish Oil and store them in my refrigerator to preserve the freshness of the oils.

Whey Protein Powder

Whey protein powder is probably one of the most abundantly found supplements on the market today.  You can find it just about anywhere.  Be cautious, of what you are buying though.  If you opt for the cheaper whey protein, you could literally be throwing money down the toilet.  The cheaper versions of whey protein are from cheaper sources of whey and are less likely to be fully absorbed, which means they just pass right through.  At a minimum look for a whey isolate, as this is a very pure form of whey and easier digested.  One of the best options for whey is a Hydrolyzed Whey Protein.  This is one of the fastest digested forms of whey protein, meaning it gets absorbed faster and sent to your muscles for repair that much quicker.  Another thing to keep an eye out for is added sweeteners or artificial sweeteners.  It's actually more difficult than you think to find a quality source of whey protein without the added sugar or the presence of artificial sweeteners.  Personally, I choose NOW Whey Protein Isolate.  NOW is a supplement company who produces majority of it's products with the absence of added sweeteners and artificial sweeteners, and most of products, if not all are all natural.  I mix my protein powder with either coconut milk or regular milk and take either one full serving (120 calories and 25g protein) or a half serving after each workout.  If I workout from home, I usually make a post workout shake consisting of the same amount of protein powder and coconut milk, but add a full banana and some coconut flakes.  Its delicious, I choose the dutch chocolate flavor, so the shake is a great combination of chocolate, coconut, and banana.     

Topical Magnesium Oil

Majority of the population does not reach the RDA amounts of magnesium.  RDA values are for the general population and generally don't apply to the active population.  Magnesium is a nutrient which has several benefits.  You can find it many forms, personally I choose transdermal.  I do this for optimum absorption and for localized absorption.  Some of the benefits of magnesium include: Increased sleep, reduced muscle aches, pains, cramping and spasms, healthy skin and reduced outbreaks of eczema and psoriasis, better relaxation and stress management, increased energy levels and improved moods, and increased athletic performance.  So you can see why taking a magnesium supplement is beneficial.  You should aim for about 500mg of magnesium a day.  That amount should be flexible as magnesium does have some laxative properties, although applying magnesium oil topically could help avoid this.  I use magnesium spray after tough training days, prior to going to bed (to assist with the relaxing properties of magnesium). I spray it directly to my sore muscles (thighs and calves) and rub it in by hand or with my massage stick.  

Melatonin

Working 3rd shift is hell on getting into a regular sleeping pattern (No kidding!).  So to assist with falling asleep quickly and to obtain a high quality of sleep I supplement with melatonin right before bed when I am sleeping during the daylight hours during my work rotation.  Melatonin is produced naturally by the human body to help regulate the sleep-wake cycle.  Melatonin is directly correlated to our circadian rhythms.  It's production is typically triggered naturally by darkness, our circadian rhythms (think of "out of habit" of evolution of sleeping at night), and other "things" in which we have ingrained into our systems to signal its time for bed.  Supplementing melatonin can assist with falling into a sleep routine faster and reaching a higher quality of sleep.  Since melatonin is a product which is naturally produced by our bodies, you can stand to potentially develop a dependency on artificial melatonin.  For this reason it should either be cycled for about 4 weeks on 1 week off or just taken on an irregular basis.  Personally I only take melatonin on mornings after work just prior to going to bed, I skip taking it when I get to go to bed at night.  However, if you find your self being restless at night and would like a healthy option to aide in falling asleep, you might want to try a melatonin supplement.