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The following is a list and description of the supplements I currently take, or recommend, and why. Keep in mind these are SUPPLEMENTS. These things alone will not make you skinny, ripped or jacked. They are meant to supplement and boost a proper diet and exercise regimen. You can easily get by without a single one of these but I will explain why I take them (or why I believe in them if I don’t) and support it with science.
Caffeine! I start each day off with a Sugar Free Monster energy drink. If you buy them by the case they aren’t nearly as expensive as they are in the gas stations or grocery stores. If you read my post on artificial sweeteners then I shouldn’t get any griping about this. Most energy drinks also have vitamins/micronutrients in them. My body has become accustomed to large amounts of caffeine over the years and you will see more caffeine in my supplements shortly. You build up a tolerance to caffeine just like you would to a narcotic and you eventually require more and more to create the same impact. Caffeine is a potent supplement in any sort of workout regimen (or daily life in general). It not only helps you boost your mind and gives you the energy to get off your booty and hit they gym, road or wherever you train, it also is a vasodilator. This means it dilates the blood vessels (yes, it also have vasoconstrictive properties, but the main effect is dilation). Its main mechanism of action is through nitric oxide (NO). Increased dilation = increased blood flow = increased nutrient delivery to muscles. I personally don’t like coffee that much (or hot liquids in general). I like to have a cold, carbonated beverage as soon as I wake up and hate to wait for coffee to cool down to a non-scolding temperature and before you know it the coffee is now too cold to drink (kind of a Goldilocks situation).
Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs). This is essentially what protein is broken down into. Protein is broken down into a plethora of BCAAs, but most BCAA powders or capsules only have the major players in them (Luceine, Valine and Isoluceine). Many products mix their powders with Beta-alanine, Taurine and L-alanine as well. You can get these powders with or without caffeine in them. I currently use them every day and put a double serving in a half gallon jug of water. I do this to get beneficial BCAAs, get some more caffeine and because drinking plain water bores the hell out of me (they come in a plethora of delicious flavors!). This is the only way I get an appropriate amount of water in every day. BCAAs have been shown to promote a positive nitrogen balance, keep you from being as sore and theoretically help build muscle. However many studies show that whole protein sources (food protein or protein peptides from powders) are really where its at for building muscle. I mainly use it because it’s not going to hurt my cut or bulk at zero calories, it helps add flavor and caffeine to my water and it could very likely be helping me maintain or gain muscle. Here is the specific BCAA (with caffeine) I use (Blue Raz flavor). Or use the link above to explore other BCAA options. The specific water jug I use is linked above and I love it because it doesn’t leak, has a large mouth to put my supplements in, dishwasher safe, no BPA and it is easy to take a drink out of during my workouts. Just in case you want to look for something different, here are a few more half gallon options.
Creatine. I use creatine monohydrate every day as well. Creatine is an energy source for muscles. It is one of the most studied supplements in the fitness industry and has shown time and time again to increase strength and muscular endurance in the gym. Increased strength/endurance = progressive overload = more muscle gains. Creatine is a cheap and easy to take supplement. I mix it in my half gallon jug with my BCAAs every week day and “dry-scoop” it on the weekends (since I don’t take BCAAs on non-workout days). Dry-scooping is literally taking the scoop of powder, dumping it in your mouth and choking it back with liquids. For me it’s just quicker and easier than mixing it up lol. Careful not to aspirate (inhale) it if you do this. You will find creatine in many other supplements these days, but I prefer the pure isolated form (monohydrate). You will find it in pre-workouts, protein powders, BCAAs and pretty much anything out there can have it in it. Some people swear by doing a “loading phase” which is where you take quite a bit more for the first week or two in order to saturate your muscle tissues. This is likely something developed by the marketing companies to get you to use more. Plenty of studies show that simply using 5g every day will saturate your muscle tissues just as fast. This is the specific creatine powder I use (mixes well, tasteless, no gritty feel) but you can use the link above to see a variety of choices.
Whey Protein. Probably the most important and popular of the supplements. Whey protein isolate is a relatively fast absorbing milk-based protein that is best used after a workout. Important for both a cut or a mass gaining phase as I have discussed in past posts. In a cut it is important to keep your protein high and you calories lower than maintenance and whey protein is the perfect, relatively low calorie, post-workout supplement to help achieve this. On a bulk you can sometimes struggle to get enough calories in or just don’t always have the time or place (like at work) to have a whole meal with you, so just bring your handy-dandy protein shaker cup and mix up a to-go meal that you can drink in your car if needed. You can also mix it in with other foods that are usually lower in protein (I mix two scoops in my massive amount of oatmeal on my mass gaining phase – don’t judge me, it’s delicious!). You can even make protein packed snacks or baked goods with it (pancakes, etc.). Protein is the most important macronutrient when it comes to gaining or maintaining lean muscle mass and is very thermogenic so it can help you in your weight loss journey as well. Here is the specific whey protein I use (delicious vanilla flavor that you can use to add to recipes or standalone as a protein shake!) but if you want to search various brand and flavors you can use the link above.
Casein Protein. One of the most under-appreciated proteins out there. Casein is also a milk protein but is a very slow digesting protein. I use this at night before I go to bed. The flavors available make it seem and taste like a snack. No matter what your goal is I can almost bet you that you would like to try and maintain your lean muscle mass, am I right? Well most people don’t realize that when we sleep we are “fasted” and go without food for hours. This puts our body in a relatively catabolic (muscle breakdown) state and that is not what anyone wants. Muscle is broken down AND repaired in large amounts while we are sleeping, so you need to make sure your body has the nutrients it needs in order to repair the muscle tissue (protein). I have personally noticed a huge difference in keeping muscle during my cuts (and gaining muscle on my bulks) when I take a few scoops of casein powder before bed, so I am sold on it’s usefulness. I’m sure that some of you are currently thinking, “I thought you weren’t supposed to eat before bed because it’s more readily stored as fat?”. Well that seems to be an old wive’s tale. Studies show that time of day or sleep patterns don’t really influence how bodies utilize nutrients very much all. Now you if you have a significant amount of carbohydrates before bed you may notice its hard to sleep because you are essentially giving your body sugar (glucose). In fact, when we sleep we sometimes have more bodily processes going on in the background than we do while we are awake so our body needs the fuel/nutrients to run these processes (like muscle breakdown and repair mentioned above). Here is a link to the specific casein protein I use (cookies and cream flavor), but you can use the link above to search other options.
Multivitamins. I personally just buy a cheap men’s multivitamin from the local grocery store and take it at night (tends to upset my stomach if I take it in the mornings). If you have a very micronutrient dense diet then you may not even need these, but most of you know from my older posts that I eat the same thing pretty much every day and I don’t get a ton of micronutrients in my diet, so I have to supplement with an MVI (multivitamin). From personal experience, and many testimonies from friends/family I can surmise that most people don’t get enough (or a large enough variety) of micronutrients in their diets, so a cheap MVI is likely beneficial for all.
Fish or Krill Oil. You’ve likely heard about the plethora of benefits surround fish oil. In fact, European physicians would send their patients home on fish oil (and other medications as well) after cardiovascular events like heart attacks or strokes. It is believed to have a positive impact on your cardiovascular health as well as your cholesterol. There are also promising studies that show it could help prevent things like Alzheimer’s disease. I’m not sure if the data is solid enough to say for sure that this is some sort of miracle prevention supplement, but the fact of the matter is that there is no reason NOT to take it. There are really no harmful side effects. If you take cheap fish oils you may notice fishy burps (or even worse…farts with some of the enteric coated ones). Some people swear that freezing you capsules will solve this…didn’t work for me. I switched to a Krill oil, which gives you the same Omega 3 and 6 profile without the fish burps or aftertaste AND you only need to take one TINY capsule every day instead of 3 to 4 “horse pills” every day. Krill oil tends to be more expensive than the cheaper fish oil counterparts, but it’s worth it in my mind.
Vitamin D. I periodically take an over the counter vitamin D supplement. As a practitioner I feel like most people that live in Michigan tend to run on the low side of vitamin D because of our long winters where we don’t get outside into that vitamin D inducing sunshine too often. Taking a little bit likely won’t hurt you but you have to remember that this is a fat soluble vitamin, which means that you don’t just pee out any extra and there is appreciable toxicity related to too much vitamin D. Vitamin D has a lot of health benefits for both men and women. Vitamin D is kind of a “transport” for calcium so when taken together it can improve bone strength and mineralization in women and help reverse or prevent osteoporosis. Vitamin D is also associated with a slight rise in testosterone in men (don’t worry women, it won’t turn you into She-Hulk) and every little boost in this department is appreciated in my book. This, however, is not scientifically proven, but seems to be valid from my standpoint.
Fat burners. No….just no. I don’t take these and you shouldn’t either. Even the best fat burners out there (which usually aren’t even safe) only help you burn an additional 25-50 calories a DAY. That’s nothing compared to all the side effects and potential dangers related to them. Most of them have been shown to have potentially deadly cardiovascular side effects and more than a few of these supplements have led to death. It is far easier and safer to cut 25 to 50 more calories out of your diet rather than take these dangerous substances. Once again, this is marketing companies preying on those out there looking for a quick fix.
If you have any questions or would like to me talk about a specific supplement that you may have heard good things about, please let me know. There are literally millions of “supplements” out there. Some of them are “associated” with curing certain diseases, raising testosterone, increasing metabolism and yada yada. Most of these claims are unfounded and marketing companies love to exploit people who think they can chase cancer off with an over-the-counter pill or “boost your testosterone” with a pill because some ex-professional athlete says it works (spoiler alert…they are getting paid to sell you crap). There are really no over the counter supplements out there that have scientifically been shown to boost testosterone (or regrow hair for my bald brethren out there) by any appreciable amount. As you can see I really don’t take a ton of supplements like you see many bodybuilders slamming back these days. Seriously….I’ve seen videos of these guys downing two fistfuls of pills! You have to remember that a lot of these guys are sponsored by various companies, so they are literally paid to take these pills and powders and try to get you to do the same. As long as they don’t have a ton of side effects, that’s completely up to you, but you need to make sure the potential benefit outweighs the cost (literal and figurative costs). I feel like most other supplements are a waste of money when compared to the potential benefit they give (if any) or are simply downright dangerous.
You may have noticed that most of my links will take you to Bodybuilding.com. This is because this is where I get all my supplements and protein powders as I have for years. They always seem to have the best deals, best variety of products and they usually arrive at my door in a couple of days despite me choosing the 5-7 day delivery option. They also typically send samples with their products (pre-workout, protein powders, BCAAs, etc.). This site also has plenty of resources for anyone in their fitness journey from those looking to start their fitness journey to pro-bodybuilders or marathoners. You can even find video or picture tutorials on proper workout form/technique (for free), which is an invaluable resource for anyone at any fitness level. I wholeheartedly endorse this company and I myself have used them regularly for my fitness needs for many years and will continue to do so.
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