Thread: Getting Serious, need sound supplement advice

Originally Posted by roadkill

Hi guys,

I've been hitting the gym for several years now and although i consider myself fairly healthy, I would like to start improving on the gains ive made and do some serious muscle building. I've got my diet down pretty tight, avoiding excess fats and eating plenty of veggies, lean white meat and fish. I've also started taking Whey protein powder to aid my efforts but i'm considering supplementing that with either Creatine or Tribulus.

So my questions are as follows:
1) Are there any side effects to either formula?
2) Can you take both or should I just stick to one?
3) Which brand should I go for?
4) How long should I take them for?

I would just stick to Creatine (which is an excellent supplement on its own).
I would stay as far away from Tribulas as possible it has been linked with heart attacks and strokes and on top- of that isn't really needed anyway.
For all the information you could want about Creatine (Sorry I dont know how to make an actual link ). Go to ABC Bodybuilding.com look under nutrition/supplement Reviews and there is an article there called Creatine Myths and Facts. Then if you have any further questions go to forums/nutrition and there is an article right at the top of the first page.Where the arthor answers any other questions you could have about this supplement.
ENJOY!!

Tribulus is crap.

Go with fish oil, creatine, and extra calcium.

Originally Posted by Monolith

Tribulus is crap.

Go with fish oil, creatine, and extra calcium.

BUMP

Originally Posted by Monolith

Tribulus is crap.

Go with fish oil, creatine, and extra calcium.

I have to disagree Monolith, sorry.

Tribulus might not help you big muscle directly, but it WILL lift your spirits and possibly allow you to perform better in and out of the gym. Consider it a substitute for st. johns wort... not a muscle building supplement. But it is by NO means useless.

I personally don't care for creatine. I actually value tribulus much higher.

But I second the fish oil. 10g a day. And a GREAT multi vitamin. I also like gingko biloba, I have feel the difference at a gram a day... I can think much more clearly.

Originally Posted by Luke9583

I have to disagree Monolith, sorry.

Tribulus might not help you big muscle directly, but it WILL lift your spirits and possibly allow you to perform better in and out of the gym. Consider it a substitute for st. johns wort... not a muscle building supplement. But it is by NO means useless.

I personally don't care for creatine. I actually value tribulus much higher.

But I second the fish oil. 10g a day. And a GREAT multi vitamin. I also like gingko biloba, I have feel the difference at a gram a day... I can think much more clearly.

Well, i've never used trib... and i havent researched it much, so im not in much of a position to disagree with ya. What ive heard anecdotally, though, suggests long-term tribulus can have a negative impact on metabolic function. If youre gonna use it, i think cycling it as Prince suggests with his Anabolic-Matrix product would be ideal.

Why dont you like creatine, btw? No benefits in the gym? If thats the case, it'd be a good idea to take it anyway... it's more or less the cheapest nootropic/neuroprotective agent out there right now. It's even being studied in alzheimers treatment.

I havent used ginko (too many contraindictions with all the other shit im taking), but ive heard great stuff about it.

Creatine, .... don't like feeling bloated. I"ve used swole in the past and not 'looked' bloated but never felt tight enough. I hate feeling flabby.

Besides, with a decent diet I noticed I actually got as good/ or bettre pumps even w/o the swole. I've used mono di's and tri's.

Trib did quite a bit for my lowered libido after my M1-T cycle. Linked to heart attacks???? ... neeggggattiive....

Originally Posted by camarosuper6

Linked to heart attacks???? ... neeggggattiive....

I have read scientific studies that say diffrent

ok heres what i did. the guys in my gym recommended a local sports \ nutrition store which gave sound \ unbiased advice on what to do. so after speaking to them i have gone for the following plan

up calorie intake to 3000 a day
protein to 300 grams
take creatine poweder (coming to end of loading phase)
take l-glutamine before and after workouts
switch to none sugared whey protein.

aparently i should notice some results after 3 weeks so heres hoping. but there was one thing which did interest me in what the store assistant said. when i asked about products like hydroxycut and nitro-tech, his response was that they were 'utter shit!'. aparently they are loaded with sugar and do nothing for your health. so instead of recommending an expensive £50 drum of nitro-tech, he steered me to a simple £30 drum of whey protein of equal size.

Now I was lucky to find some unbiased advice how told me exactly what i needed to know but what burns me is that as soon as you open a body building mag, theres Ronny Coleman or Jay Cutler advertising something which is going to do you know good at all!

Originally Posted by roadkill

ok heres what i did. the guys in my gym recommended a local sports \ nutrition store which gave sound \ unbiased advice on what to do. so after speaking to them i have gone for the following plan

up calorie intake to 3000 a day
protein to 300 grams
take creatine poweder (coming to end of loading phase)
take l-glutamine before and after workouts
switch to none sugared whey protein.

aparently i should notice some results after 3 weeks so heres hoping. but there was one thing which did interest me in what the store assistant said. when i asked about products like hydroxycut and nitro-tech, his response was that they were 'utter shit!'. aparently they are loaded with sugar and do nothing for your health. so instead of recommending an expensive £50 drum of nitro-tech, he steered me to a simple £30 drum of whey protein of equal size.

Now I was lucky to find some unbiased advice how told me exactly what i needed to know but what burns me is that as soon as you open a body building mag, theres Ronny Coleman or Jay Cutler advertising something which is going to do you know good at all!

Welcome to the world of marketing.

Originally Posted by Luke9583

Tribulus might not help you big muscle directly, but it WILL lift your spirits and possibly allow you to perform better in and out of the gym. Consider it a substitute for st. johns wort... not a muscle building supplement. But it is by NO means useless.
.

I tried Tribulus a while ago. It did nothing for me, inside or outside the gym.

creatine and glutamine is the way to go man, good luck with your new supplements

i've just recently started tribulus, its hard to give a full review of it yet but so far so good, i'm taking a product with 250mg per cap. doing 2 caps 3 times a day (6 in total), so thats 1.5g a day, the provides 40% steroidal saponins (I know 45% is better but hey I got it at half RRP)
things i've noticed so far...
general increase in libdo, morning wood, and dreams about certain Uni chicks that I like (I had non of these before and very rarely any morning wood!)
I feel a lot fresher, when I workout, when i'm in lectures... not as tired even if my sleep is not ideal the night before
I seem to be sleeping a lot better/deeper than before, rarely getting woken up despite the all-night noize from the drunken animals in my flat (aka my flatmates)

I'm stacking it with ZMA, which is also probably helping

so far i'm pleased with it

peace

I've tried a shit-load of supplements and the two that worked the best for me was Nitrotech from Muscletech, and Methoxy Factor from EAS.
Quick solid gains on these two

just thought id post an update on how the creatine \ glutamine is working out. as i said ive up my calorie intake to about 3000 a day and ive now come to the end of the first week of my creatine maintenance period.

BODY:
Its certainly had an effect, especially in my torso, (ive always had strong legs! comes from years of skateboarding as a kid!) as my pectorals have started to retain their muscle mass and my biceps are actually starting to grow! i know this could be due to water retention but I did notice for the first time a proper pump whilst doing bicep curls last night. needless to say this blew my mind a bit!

I found that I had more energy and determination to finish a set and was less prone to feeling that the last few reps were a struggle, rather it was a fight that I was winning.

Cardio Vascular has improved and i've up'd my workout time to 45 minutes instead of my regular 30. Worries over a recuring ankle injury have prevented me from breaking this barrier but with adequate stretching and massage it seems to be holding up ok.

MIND:
Ive noticed some psycological effects over the past fortnight. My initial loading phase was characterised by an increase in activity at work (IT management) and completion of various little chores that I had been putting off. Libido took off like a rocket (girlfriend wasnt complaining!) and I had a brighter outlook on the day. Sleep was a bit tricky as I found that I would sleep like a log till around 4 and that would be it, im awake. Usually Im out for the count till around 6am.

With the ending of the loading phase and commencement of the maintenance phase I encountered a drop in energy (nothing dramatic) and the onset of depression that lasted about 3 days. Thankfully I kicked myself out of it yesterday and im back to my regular self.

CONCLUSION:
Going from what the store guy told me, it'll be another week or two before I see any real difference but so far so good!

roadkill...how much glutamine are you taking...and at what point in the day?