Smoke

I have the basics covered...Protein, Creatine, Multi-Vitamin. With the goal being to gain lean muscle mass is there anything else I could add?(Supplement wise, obivously)

Gazhole

IMO the only essential is a Multi-Vitamin.

Protein is a convenience because you can get it from your diet, and Creatine is 100% optional and not really needed at all.

The only other thing i personally would consider essential is some sort of joint maintenance supp like Fish Oils or Glucosamine Sulphate, because i have joint issues like tendonitis a lot when i dont take them.

The bottom line is that supplements are supplemental to your diet, everything you want in terms of muscle mass and bodyfat can only be achieved through diet management. Supplements are there to take care of things that can't easily be done through regular diet (like vitamins and minerals for example).

http://sdatrainingprograms.blogspot.com - Updated 25/04/08

Prince

definitely add an EFA.

Essence EFA

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TexanTA1996

Theres no such thing as an essential supplement.

IainDaniel

Maybe not "Essential".

I think a Mulit-V and and EFA supp are necessary.

Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

Michael Jordan

snoops

yeah you've basically already got everything covered with the protein and multi-vitamin, just throw in some fish oil and you'll be good to go. As far as what is essential for weightlifting, I would disagree with some on here and say that protein is the most essential. By no means am I saying a multi vitamin is not extremely important, but I think anyone with a decent diet would see more gains supplementing with protein alone than they would by taking only a multi-vitamin daily. Eating enough chicken, beef, etc, to get enough protein in a bodybuilders diet is very difficult without supplementing.

IainDaniel

Really kind of a general statement. Painting everyone with the same brush.

Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

Michael Jordan

KelJu

I don't know what he is talking about. I have no problem at all getting all of the macros I need straight from food.

snoops

I just hear views like this all the time now. Basically everything said about how protein is a convenience and how it just supplements the diet can be said about multi-vitamins. To me, with all the supplements out there today, it seems that the "cool" (I cant think of a better word) answer for a question like this is to say a multi-vitamin is the most important supplement to take for weight lifting, which I do not think is true. If I had to throw out all of my supps and only keep one, Id keep my big bag of protein. In the end though, none of this really matters because the best thing to do is use supplement with protein and a multi. If you can maintain a good diet, than you dont need any supplements, but that would be too difficult for me.

snoops

I guess it is generallizing, but I think it is much more difficult and much more expensive to get 200 or so grams of protein a day in your diet without supps than it is to get your daily allowance of most of your vitamins. Knocking down 10 chicken breasts is more difficult for me than drinking a vitamin water and healthy foods.

Built

200g protein is EASY!

10 ounces of cottage cheese
10 ounces of ground buffalo
1 can tuna
10 ounces of chicken breast

Total: 1117
Fat: 19 170 16%
Sat: 8 71 7%
Poly: 1 5 0%
Mono: 0 2 0%
Carbs: 14 54 5%
Fiber: 0 0 0%
Protein: 215 859 79%

snoops

Ground buffalo? i didnt even know that existed ha. But yeah, it is definitelly doable, but so is getting your daily dosage of vitamins through a decent diet. So again, both of these essential supps are only conveniences. For me personally though, it is much easier for me to bring two scoops of protein to the gym with me than it is bringing a baggy of ground buffalo. This question comes up all the time of what are the essential supps to take by beginners. If I was personally asked this, I would say that every weightlifter needs 1. protien 2. fish oil 3. multi-vitamin. And if for some reason all three were not obtainable, I would suggest them in that order as well. Yet everytime this question is asked, there is always an answer saying that a multi is the most important or all that one really needs and that is where I disagree.

workingatit43

A multi and fish oil I will not go without these

Anabolic Innovations Representative
Sbmuscle.com Representative My opinons, views, and suggestions are that of my own and do not represent SBMuscle.com.
Anabolic Innovation at SB Muscle
Sbmuscle.com

Built

Ground buffalo is cheap where I live - nice clean meat and really lean. Our extra lean ground beef has 10g fat per 100g. Buffalo has 4g per 100g, and it's cheaper than regular ground beef. Redder, too.

Smoke

I want to thank you all for your replies. EFA is something I will have to consider. Could anyone give me a basic outline as to why it is so important?

Built

Get Built - Get Built - Q & A with the Iron Geek - Issue 1
Last question talks about fish oil.

Gazhole

Then you're a fool.

Heavy weightlifting depletes the body of vitamins and minerals that ARE essential for many biological processes. Without those things, you will get deficiencies and all sorts of health concerns can stem from that.

Protein can easily be taken in large enough quantities to gain mass without a supp, i've done it myself, and recently too.

But whatever, you do what you like. I'll save money, and enjoy my chicken breasts rather than a few glasses of liquid strawberries.

http://sdatrainingprograms.blogspot.com - Updated 25/04/08

Nate K

??

IainDaniel

See that is the problem with todays food sources. They are over harvested lacking the nutrients they once used to have. Farming foods and harvesting animals, are all about mass production with no concern about the proper conditions of the soils or treatment of the animals.

Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

Michael Jordan

code0824

Fish oil, BCAA's IMO

snoops

ha, I guess disagreeing means Im a fool? Thats great that you have made gains recently without supplementing with protein. I have made excellent gains while not supplementing with a multi. And on top of that, I havent had all sorts of health concerns while lifting and playing sports without the multi (I use one now of course). Assuming that someone who asks a question like this one probably is pretty new to weightlifting, I will also assume that their diet is not perfect and are probably not getting enough protein. People like me and you can easily get enough protein throughout the day without it, but I think it is difficult for most.

Rob Awesome

I can add no more.

Workingatit is right in saying the ONLY supplements one should pay monthly for is, IN MY OPINION; Protein Powder, Creatine Monohydrate, Fish Oil & a good Multi Vitamin.

Anabolic Innovations Rep
www.AnabolicInnovations.com
www.HealthyCheatFoods.com

Built

What part's not clear?