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I have a question for everyone. I am curious as to which brand of supplements you take and why. I donít want to fall for all of the marketing, but I know that Xyience sponsors several UFC fighters. If you use Xyience or another brand, which supplements do you use as well.
Thanks everyone,
I’m sure I’ll have a lot of arguments here but I believe supplements are around for one reason – to make supplement companies a lot of money!! Athletes/organizations that endorse any supplement aren’t doing it because they work so well, they do it because they are paid!
When working out drink lots of water!! People are generally in a dehydrated state and should drink more H2O than any of us do in a day. A good whole food based vitamin, some Omega 3 fish oil & maybe some coral calcium will make ya healthier and stronger than any sports supplement.
My unscientific 2 cents!! Oh boy, here come the arguments!!!
I would agree with you to some point. H2O is the key to everything. However, I have taken creatine before with great results. my recovery time after a hard class was cut in half.
\”I believe supplements are around for one reason – to make supplement companies a lot of money!!\” I also believe this. Supplements are not regulated by the FDA and there is a lot of poor products on the market. That is why I wanted to see what we (Kravists) are using, if anything at all.
For the most part I agree with OldKravDude, but like everything there are exceptions.
As a S&C Coach, I rarely recommend supplements aside from Omega3, multi vitamin or perhaps some Amino Acids and Protein.
In my opinion, the best supplement for working through your Krav Training is your overall physical conditioning. Get to the gym, get strong and build muscular endurance. Work hard every second of your training in Krav Classes and in the gym.
Think about this; There are varying reports about creatine use. Different people are effected by it in different ways. Some people note improvements in performance, some do not. Personally, as a trainer, I have used creatine (as I wouldn’t recommend anything that I wouldn’t do myself). I didn’t experience any positive effects. Again, different people will respond to Creatine and most supplements differently.
That said, everybody gains benefits from increased overall conditioning and fitness. There are no studies for or against it. Fact is Fact.
Lastly, heightened conditioning is something that lasts long after the supplementation boost that you receive through your Krav session wears off. It just isn’t as immediately accessible.
Work Hard, Live Strong
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quote \”OldKravDude\:I’m sure I’ll have a lot of arguments here but I believe supplements are around for one reason – to make supplement companies a lot of money!! Athletes/organizations that endorse any supplement aren’t doing it because they work so well, they do it because they are paid!When working out drink lots of water!! People are generally in a dehydrated state and should drink more H2O than any of us do in a day. A good whole food based vitamin, some Omega 3 fish oil & maybe some coral calcium will make ya healthier and stronger than any sports supplement.
My unscientific 2 cents!! Oh boy, here come the arguments!!!
No argument from me… although everything needs to come in moderation. Even the good stuff you think can’t hurt you:
\”Can You Really Drink Too Much Water?
In a word, yes. Drinking too much water can lead to a condition known as water intoxication and to a related problem resulting from the dilution of sodium in the body, hyponatremia. Water intoxication is most commonly seen in infants under six months of age and sometimes in athletes. A baby can get water intoxication as a result of drinking several bottles of water a day or from drinking infant formula that has been diluted too much. Athletes can also suffer from water intoxication. Athletes sweat heavily, losing both water and electrolytes. Water intoxication and hyponatremia result when a dehydrated person drinks too much water without the accompanying electrolytes.\”
http://chemistry.about.com/cs/5/f/blwaterintox.htmAnd this story from the BBC:
\”Jennifer Strange had taken part in the \”Hold Your Wee for a Wii\” game, which promised the winner a Nintendo Wii. Afterwards she reportedly said her head was hurting and went home, where she was later found dead. Initial tests have shown her death is consistent with water intoxication.
Drinking too much water can eventually cause your brain to swell, stopping it regulating vital functions such as breathing, and causing death. So what happens?
Water enters the body when we drink and is removed primarily in the urine and sweat. The amount of water in the body is regulated to control the levels of certain compounds, such as salt, in the blood.
If you drink too much water, eventually the kidneys will not be able to work fast enough to remove sufficient amounts from the body, so the blood becomes more dilute with low salt concentrations.\”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6263029.stmHad she had a Gatorade or other sports drink with electrolytes, she may still be around to tell people how bad supplements are. Oh the irony… 😛
This one of those subjects thats always interesting. The hype of the fitness porn is very much in our instant gratification mentality.And with MMA fighters getting decaled out like a NASCAR front runner its easy to get lost in the maze. I used Xyience to get ready for my fight endorsements make people believe our hero got into that shape because of the product. Of course, we really don’t pay attention to the fact the guy was doing 3 training sessions a day for months before stepping on the mat. The recovery needs of a pro fighter are different than average Joe.
The real question behind to supplement or not is recovery, and there are simple inexpensive things that should be done 1st that will aid recovery and eliminate the need for most of this stuff. most people don’t do them.
I don’t know if your familar with Dan John. If your not, he’s required reading. He’s alot cheaper and smarter then Creatine. He recommends paying attention first to the basics
Clean up your diet
get enough sleep
contrast showersI’d add some form of self myo fascile release work and stretching after a w/o, which most don’t do….Guilty
He also recommend these suppliments, a multi vitamin, fish oil and magnesium
He also suggests Potassium with each meal, but that was if you followed his recommendation on diet. Meat,leaves and berries. To avoid cramps.
It’s like anything else in life, master the fundamentals. Once you have your house in order, you can use your own body to see the benefits of a product. Until then, there are better ways to spend money.
I do like the convience of MRP’s, but am not sure of the sugar substitutes and i find them hard to digest
Hope this helps
Excellent post unstbabl1, interesting points. The instant gratification aspect is probably one of the most powerful forces driving the industry, and one I have to admit I’m prone to following too. The idea of not having to work as hard to acheive the same results is very enticing… especially to people like me who one day wake up and realize life is passing me by, it’s time to get in shape and quick.
But that’s where the failure lies in supplements: the idea that it’s going to be easy. We’re an overweight and out of shape culture that drools over the concept that being healthy is a pill away. It’s a constant game of finding the easiest path, with TV exercise gadgets that minimize efforts and promise big results. The fine print, however, always comes back to the same thing… they work based on a sensible diet and exercise regiment.
Everyone says, focus on your diet… which leads a lot of people to respond with the same ho-hum response of \”yeah, no kidding… now where’s my creatine supplement?\” because it’s such a vague directive. In my latest diet attempts, I’ve taken a different view on food than I’ve had in the past… so if there’s common ground where I stand with those of the \”all natural\” approach, this would be it.
I call it eating with a purpose. Instead of looking at food as nothing more than job security for the toilet paper industry, I’ve been trying to view each food source as a supplement itself. What’s in it? Why should I eat it? How can it help me? My weight loss has leveled off in the two weeks I’ve been eating like this, but I’m hoping I’m losing fat and building muscle. So the trade off should be slow on the scale, but more noticalbe in the mirror. Eleven pounds as of today, and I don’t notice that \”jiggle in the middle\” as I did before when walking. Good news to me.
When treating foods as a supplement, it also has the effect that you’re doing something good for yourself. I leave a can of walnuts on the table for those \”oh man, i’m craving a snack\” times… because walnuts are packed with anti-oxidants and good nurtients and because I hate the flavor. This keeps me from grabbing a handful everytime I pass the table.
Celery… hate the taste but it’s high in potassium. Two stalks a day. Yuck.
Carrots… as boring as a documentary about London’s financial district, but the benefits are huge. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=21Quinoa… this quote says it best: \”Not only is quinoa high in protein, but the protein it supplies is complete protein, meaning that it includes all nine essential amino acids. Not only is quinoa’s amino acid profile well balanced, making it a good choice for vegans concerned about adequate protein intake, but quinoa is especially well-endowed with the amino acid lysine, which is essential for tissue growth and repair. In addition to protein, quinoa features a host of other health-building nutrients.\” http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=142
Meats… sources and creatine. Add meat to your diet or supplement. It’s acknowledged it’s necessary… the discussion begins with how much is too much. I stay below the \”recommended intake\” on the labels, but don’t want to eat the meat equivalent of an additional 3-4 grams per day. An 8 ounce steak contains roughly one gram of creatine. So I supplement.
Eggs (wikipedia info): They supply a large amount of complete, high-quality[7] protein (which contains all essential amino acids for humans), and provide significant amounts of several vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, riboflavin, folic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, choline, iron, calcium, phosphorus and potassium. They are also one of the least expensive single-food sources of complete protein.
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Romaine lettuce in my salads: \”Romaine’s vitamin C and beta-carotene content make it a heart-healthy green. Vitamin C and beta-carotene work together to prevent the oxidation of cholesterol. When cholesterol becomes oxidized, it becomes sticky and starts to build up in the artery walls forming plaques.\” http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=61
The list could contine forever… the idea is simple tho: if people put as much interest in their foods as they do their supplements, they might not see the need for buying that protein powder or creatine. Or, if they’re like me, they’ll also realize in the lower calorie diet I’m not even reaching the Recommended Daily Allowance of protein, and don’t want to eat more meat. Supplements become just that: an addition to things already targeting specific needs in overall health and fitness. Maybe I’m trying to do too much at once, that much I’ll admit guilt.
Hopefully this will get me back in the good graces of those that don’t take the supplements, it’s really not an argument worth people getting mad about. Simply a discussion, and I’m sure everyone would appreciate being more educated about whatever their current position is.
And if there’s something you see in a supplement that you wonder if it would help you, here’s a decent link to a list of common ingredients and the FAQs for them: http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/infopages.html
I have way too much free time. 8)
vwr32 – Great post! Thanks for the links! I’ve tried other supplements for the hype factor too and stopped. Other than Viactiv and a multivitamin, about the only ‘supplement’ I use is Myoplex Lite after my cardio workouts when I need it.
I do eat too much junk. Why does the junk food taste great and sometimes the good stuff just doesn’t..I know I gotta work the stuff so it tastes good to me. 😀
Get yourself a good cook book and develop some favorite veggie recipes… 😀
By the way, has anyone of our nutritional experts heard of a diet where you actually eat raw meat products, such as steak and poultry? I heard about it some years ago and it sounded pretty crazy, but it’s supposed to help build muscle or something? Could this work and what is the danger to eating raw meat?
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GiantkillerRe:
quote \”Giant Killer\:Get yourself a good cook book and develop some favorite veggie recipes… 😀By the way, has anyone of our nutritional experts heard of a diet where you actually eat raw meat products, such as steak and poultry? I heard about it some years ago and it sounded pretty crazy, but it’s supposed to help build muscle or something? Could this work and what is the danger to eating raw meat?
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GiantkillerI’m no nutritional expert, but this might be the diet you’re talking about:
\”Not only can diabetes be COMPLETELY handled with the proper Human Raw Meat Diet, but so can virtually every other disease we experience.\”
http://www.karlloren.com/human-raw-meat-diet.htmCrackpot.
Now, there’s something called a \”raw food\” diet that is currently popular… but I think it’s a vegetarian thing and requires not heating above a certain temp.
For those of you who want to truely rely on earthly products rather than science, eating dirt is also an option. But I’m willing to bet it doesn’t taste nearly as good as my Syntha-6 Vanilla Ice Cream flavor protein blend.
\”Most people who eat dirt live in Central Africa and the Southern United States. While it is a cultural practice, it also fills a physiological need for nutrients.\”
http://geography.about.com/cs/culturalgeography/a/geophagy.htmThere’s always the disclaimer at the bottom of the menu at resaurants who serve steak about undercooked food. That doesn’t stop me from getting mine medium, nor from enjoying sushi. Know the risks, but don’t stop living.
8)By the way, has anyone of our nutritional experts heard of a diet where you actually eat raw meat products, such as steak and poultry?
———————————Uhm, I think I would probably avoid the raw poultry, something about uncooked chicken scares me.
I know, me too, that’s why I thought it was pretty interesting. 8) The person who was on that diet actually gained a good amount of muscle with it though. He put lemon on the raw poultry overnight, which did something to it to make it taste better. He also said something about eating a lot of butter, another really scary thing, but supposedly if you bought butter from a health food store (the fresh kind from a farm, not the prepacked one in supermarkets), then it could be healthy and one wouldn’t have to worry about cholesterol.
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Giantkiller
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