Supplementation

Month 5 of my research into the supplementation and it has, so far, gone very well. 

After having taken Creatine pre-workout, a carbohydrate shake during and a protein shake post workout – all compounded with fat burners – my body fat percentage is now down to 15-17% having maintained most of my body mass. 

Before I delve a little more into the value of “stacking” the supplements, I will just explain a little more about my targets.   I am very happy with the level of strength I have.  I know I can improve on it but, I am not too bothered to be honest.  What I do plan on doing is altering my body image for self-efficacy and esteem.  I plan of dropping to around 9-10% body fat and raise my body mass to around 98-100kg (15stone 7lbs to 16 stone) or approximately 210-220lbs (for my imperial system using American readers).  I know that you may think this is mission impossible but I think that by the end of June I can achieve these targets.   I have altered my lifestyle so that I have cut out a lot of things from my daily diet which really helps.  I have completely cut out added sugars as well as cutting out white carbs altogether and replaced with wholemeal pasta, bread, rice, even sweet potatoes instead of normal potatoes.  In addition to this, I have cut my fat intake considerably.  One should not cut out a macronutrient from their diet altogether but, if you are trying to get rid of fat, it would be stupid to add more fat to your body.  I get my fats from nuts, no sugar organic peanut butter, olive oil and humous.  All of this coupled with correct supplementation will really help achieve my goal.  I have tried this for the last few months and when I have lapsed into a normal diet again I have found that I am putting on weight easily without losing any shape.   I’m looking forward to that phase of my journey as I will be gorging on everything!

Anyway, how many of you people workout regularly and take supplements and not noticed the desired effect?  It is probably because you have been briefly told about protein and how muscle needs protein to grow and repair.  Well, let me tell you the science of muscle is a lot more complex than just simple growth and repair.  To put it simply, growth and repair, just like everything is our crazy universe requires energy.  Energy in its most abundant form for humans in fat but, unfortunately, too much fat is not good for you.  So, we turn to carbohydrates.  An average 70kg man required 300g (40g of which to be sugars) in his daily diet.  This is to maintain a healthy average body mass index (BMI).  If you want to grow muscles, you need more than 300g.  This is why drinking a carbohydrate shake during a workout helps gain optimal muscle growth.  Carbs saturate the muscle quicker and it is a faster source of energy when you have depleted your energy reserve.  Ever wondered why you were advised to eat carbs after a heavy session – cardio or weights?  Particularly if you want to build muscle. 

Your body naturally creates a source of energy called adenosine triphosphate.   It is the single most potent source of energy in your whole body.  So incredible in fact, that your body recycles it and it is capable to creating energy levels comparable to burning of alcohol – 45.6kJ/mole to be precise.  It is required for literally everything your body does; breathing beating heart, blinking, hormonal release, digestion – essentially voluntary and involuntary movement.  So with that, a phosphate from the ATP combines with a muscle specific energy used during anaerobic exercise called creatine giving phospho-creatine.  This is what gives you the energy to push out those reps.  Supplementing your natural reserve of creatine with a creatine shake helps pile out another 2-3 reps and this helps you develop quicker. 

Protein shake for after workout to help with growth and repair is essential but, your body can only take so much protein per day.  Too much protein can actually cause kidney stones which is very painful to pass.  Also, too much of any macronutrient will be stored as fat as your body will not be able to metabolise it. 

In addition to these supplements, fat burners are a good way to kick start your day.  They are usually packed with caffeine which are naturally good at metabolising fats and can contain other natural extracts such as green tea extract, cayenne pepper and orange peel.  A lot of research has gone into fat burners but, always; with all the supplements ignore what they say on the label – apart from the dosage.  With fat burners you need to be careful as fatty receptor cells are sensitive.  They can get used to a specific fat burner and after time it will not have the desired effect.  This is why having two fat burners and interchanging (2weeks on 2weeks off) is the best way to ensure they are working.

To summarise, you need to STACK your supplements.  This means take more than one supplement.  Creatine and a fat burner pre-workout, carbs during your work out and protein post workout seems to be the winning formula. 

I will no doubt keep you posted.

Much love,

Jackson L.