Starting the Day with Supplements45 lbs LOSTso farDecember 12, 2007 by IronGuru | 15 comments
For many people, starting the day means taking an over-the-counter (OTC) multivitamin, or vitamins, and various other supplements. After all this, it’s time to go to the gym to get in a early workout session or some jogging time. Well, what should a person really be taking in the morning?
First we have to see how training affects one’s body. If cardio is done early in the morning, I would advise a whey protein shake upon waking up with any fat burners to take, as well as multivitamin. Stressing highly on not eating, but rather drinking the whey shake to contrast the effects of catabolism during sleep (where body is repairing itself, but no nutritional calories available, body makes use of existing tissues). The body will stay semi-anabolic, or at least not destroying muscle, and expending stored calories.
Now let’s break this down.
First thing is first, and that’s to get some protein in your body. You’ve got muscle and you WANT to keep it! A whey protein shake like ON 100% Whey, along with dozens of other brands, is a good start.
Second is a multivitamin. The drug store may carry a good vitamin, but it’s not the best. If you’re a hardcore gym enthusiast or amateur athlete, then you cannot starve your body of anything less than Animal-Pak. Read the info, it’s a PACKET of vitamins and not just a horse pill. Optimum Opti-Men or Opti-Women are good, cheap multivitamins. Good thing about these is they are 3 pills to a serving for men, which means you can take one before early workout and then the other 2 with breakfast as normally.
Third is the rest of your supplement arsenal you want to use to obliterate fat, while I feel this is completely achievable without, and with, the use of supplements. Products like Green Tea Extract, Melting Point, Venom Hyperdrive 3.0, and complete supplement systems target this problem. Remember, supplements make up for a LACK OF. If you haven’t put forth 100%, how do you know what you’re lacking in?
Combining these things, and finding how they work for you will lead to a dramatic increase in overall fat loss. Working out on an empty stomach is brutally effective at destroying fat, and if possible to do within a half hour of waking up. It’s good to workout then, because cardio tends to be long and boring and I’m still half-asleep I don’t realize I’m walking until it’s over!
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Demystifying Nutritional Supplements45 lbs LOSTso farDecember 6, 2007 by IronGuru | 10 comments
Everyone reads the magazines, watches the TV infomercials, reads the hype across the internet about the hottest new supplement. Well, let’s put all this on hold for a second … Think, are you ready for this? Are you ready to put a catalyst into your body that fires you up, and puts you on a whole new level of body sculpting excellence? Well, keep reading.
Definitions of supplement
add as a supplement to what seems insufficient; “supplement your diet” a quantity added (e.g. to make up for a deficiency) serve as a supplement to; “Vitamins supplemented his meager diet”
Supplements are meant to be an addition to your diet, weight training, and cardio. My biggest gripe against supplements is that people see them as the easy way out, they see meal replacement bars or protein shakes as a complete meal. The shakes, bars, cookies - whatever it be, are meant to ’supplement’ what whole foods cannot give you. Whole foods have a hard time providing a protein that breaks down fast, can be absorbed fast, and is readily available. So, science developed Whey Protein to fill the void for a protein supplement. This was truly revolutionary, and opened the door for more great supplements to be developed.
Among the top of the list; creatine, glutamine, glucosamine, nitric oxide, and many more have led to people shattering their goals and creating the body they have always desired. But people always looked towards supplements as an easy way out, “Well if I take this and this I can do this!”. Not necessarily, while the benefits far outweigh the negatives for supplements, there is still a very strong need for real food, and hard work.
Then came fat loss drugs, Ehphedra, Dexedrine, and countless others burst onto the market and turned many, many people’s lives around - and ruined just as many. Those with pre-existing heart conditions, or people who took more than recommended found themselves with heart disease, stroke, and many many more deadly side effects.
This also ushered in a whole new generation of supplements, anabolics. Though we had seen this for many years with the use of Testosterone, and other synthetic variations of the chemical, but there were now becoming more and more oral versions which were readily available, and not always needing a prescription (or your friend’s friend at the gym across town). Pro hormones really became big in the 21st century, with Andro and then M1T, and the dozens more that filled supplement stores and prompted hundreds of retailers to open online to carry such supplements.
All this has led to the normal person not knowing what they need to take, but more important - what they should take.
Stay tuned as I will outline basic, and advanced, supplement strategies - covering everything from whey protein to an ECY stack.
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Supplementing with a Fat Burner45 lbs LOSTso farNovember 24, 2007 by Israel Lagares | 24 comments
I have decided to implement a small change. I started taking a fat burner supplement. It’s supposed to be be an herbal formula that is designed for “optimal diet and energy.” I’m going to be the judge of that. I have a few bottles of fat burners and metabolism boosters to choose from, but I’m going to go with this one first. It’s only a 30 day supply, so it gives me enough time to test it out.
In the past I have taken Hydroxycut and Xenadrine, but they made me feel too “wired.” I wasn’t able to go to sleep until late at night too. I guess that’s what ecstasy feels like. I wouldn’t know though. This time around I have chosen to try Metabodrene 356, with 10mg Ephedra Extract. It’s comparable to Metabolife 356. I usually go for name brand supplements, but it was free so I can’t complain. Thanks Armando, ;). Some of it’s active ingredients are: Ephedra (Ma Huang) extract, (ephedrine group alkaloids) aerial part, Magnesium, Vitamin E, Zinc, and Chromium. It has a “Proprietary Blend” of Guarana (Seed), Bee Pollen, Eleuthro (root), Ginger (root), Lecithin Damiana (leaf), Sarsaparilla (root), Goldenseal (whole plant), Nettle (leaf), Gotu Kola (aerial part), Spirulina, and Royal Jelly. I may have spelled some of those wrong, so don’t shoot me if I did.
It’s supposed to make you burn fat, but we shall see. I don’t think I have a problem with burning fat once I get into a routine, but every bit helps. It’s good to keep in mind that supplements are just that, supplements. They shouldn’t be considered the end all be all for weight loss. It’s good to consult a professional before incorporating any new weight loss supplements into your diet.
I had initially started out taking a fat burner and energy supplement, but decided to wait until I hit a wall. While I haven’t hit a wall yet physically, I feel like I have hit a wall mentally. I’m certain this will kick start my motivation, sort of like a placebo effect. That’s the main reason I’m taking these. This is the first of a few different weight loss and fat burner supplements I plan on taking over the next few months. I will let you guys know if I notice any changes over the next 30 days.
Have any of you taken any fat burner supplements? If so, which and what effects did you have?
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