I’ve been getting tons and tons of questions about supplements. Whether they are good for you, what to take, when to take it, and the effect it will have on your body. For this reason, I have created this very simple guide for all you supplement newbies.
While you are reading this, I want you to keep in mind that supplements are NOT a necessity by any means. You could literally not use a single supplement and still essentially get the same results. Supplements are just little helpers that give you an extra push.
I am going to cover the basics of supplements and four basic categories: Everyday, pre workout, mid-workout, and post workout supplements. These four are the only supplements that I take, and I can attest to every product I am about to share!
EVERYDAY SUPPLEMENTS
Every day I take what is called a multivitamin. As humans, our bodies need a variety of vital nutrients to help us perform to our optimal ability. Becoming deficient in any essential vitamin or mineral can cause your body to shut down, and I’m 99.9% sure we all don’t want that, especially when we are working hard to get healthy from the inside.
If you are active, you will need even more nutrients than the average non-active person, so make sure you grab a high-potency multivitamin formula that contains the basic vitamins and minerals
When choosing a multivitamin, make sure to read the label carefully and look for the following:
Vitamin C, B2, B3, B6, B9, B12, B5, A, E, D2, D3, biotin, potassium, iodine, selenium, borate, zinc, calcium, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, beta-carotene, and iron.
KEEP IN MIND that there are different multivitamins for men and women. Women’s multivitamins primarily focus on the skin, nails, and hair health, while the men’s are more likely to help prevent prostate cancers and supports testosterone.
Avoid multivitamins that exceed 100% of the recommended values because supplements are supposed to be in addition to the nutrients in food, not replacing them.
Multivitamin I take every day: https://www.amazon.com/One-Day-Womens-Multivitamin-Tablets/dp/B012CTUT9I/ref=sr_1_5_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1485809342&sr=8-5&keywords=womens+one+a+day+multivitamin
PRE-WORKOUT SUPPLEMENTS
Alrighty, let’s get into the nitty gritty, shall we? There are SO many negative connotations associated with pre workout and lemme tell ya why.
When you take pre-workout, you may experience tingling in your skin, increased heart rate, and you may just plain out feel like a wacko. HELLO! THIS IS THE POINT OF PRE WORKOUT.
Bodybuilding.com describes pre workout as being “designed to support increased energy, focus, and endurance at the gym. When you feel like hitting the hay instead of the gym, grab pre workout to get moving and destroy your workout.”
Pre workouts contain a lot of different ingredients that affect your cardiovascular system, the main ingredient being, yep, you guessed it, caffeine.
The reason you experience the tingling sensation after taking pre workout is because most pre-workouts contain the ingredient beta alanine. Sounds scary but it’s a harmless ingredient that is a non-essential beta-amino acid that raises muscle carnosine levels and increases the amount of work you can perform at high intensities. (www.bodybuilding.com)
You can use pre-workout when you are just not feeling a workout, feeling sluggish, or when it’s just leg day. I would NOT suggest taking pre workout every single day before your workout, especially if you are new to taking it or if you are going to be engaging in a strenuous cardiovascular activity.
If you are just starting out, take a half scoop to get used to the effects, or, don’t even use it at all. Sometimes when I don’t want all the extra effects of pre-workout, I will get a triple shot of espresso and still feel just as energized.
If you are nervous taking pre-workout, try putting yourself through a trial and error period where you take it some days and not others to see what you like.
You do not need this supplement to get a great workout in, but sometimes you just need it, ya know?
MID WORKOUT SUPPLEMENT
Four words: branch chain amino acids. Also known as BCAA’s. BCAA’s are e-fricken-ssential if you want to gain or maintain muscle mass, especially if you are looking to lose fat while gaining muscle.
I don’t believe in “dieting,” but if you are seeking to gain some muscle while losing fat, you’re going to have to lower your calories a smidge. When you reduce your calories a smidge, the result is muscle breakdown. The leaner you get, the more likely you are going to lose muscle, and that is where the importance of BCAA’s kick in.
BCAA’s stimulate protein synthesis because those little things called amino acids are the building blocks of protein. When you drink BCAA’s during your workout, you are decreasing protein breakdown.
When you are trying to gain muscle mass, the rate of protein synthesis plays a huge role, and when the rate of protein breakdown outweighs the rate of protein synthesis, the result is muscle loss.
Muscle mass= rate of protein synthesis – rate of protein breakdown.
If you’re “dieting” you are most likely elevating muscle break down AND reducing protein synthesis. That’s like a double-whammy that’s making you lose all that beautiful tones muscle you have been working so hard for!
If you want to increase muscle retention and maximize fat loss, I would highly suggest investing in some BCAA’s… plus It makes drinking water during your workout easier to drink.
Here is a link to the BCAA I use: https://www.amazon.com/UP-Nutrition-Glutamine-Hydration-Watermelon/dp/B010X56KYQ/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1485809300&sr=8-1&keywords=1+up+nutrition+bcaa
POST WORKOUT SUPPLEMENTS
Right after a workout your body is craving protein to rebuild and recover, so it’s important that you eat or drink some protein within 30 minutes after your workout.Solid food, unfortunately, takes more time to digest and is absorbed in the muscles at a slower rate than it is in liquid form. When you drink a protein shake after your workout, it only takes about 30 minutes to reach the muscles after ingestion.
The first step is picking a protein powder, which can be hard because there are TONS of flavors, brands, and types. If you are looking to gain a substantial amount of muscle, whey protein may be what you want to try first. If dairy upsets your stomach as it does for me, I would recommend sticking with a plant based protein instead.
I have used plant-based protein ever since I started my health and fitness journey and I tried whey the other day, and it made me nauseous. Try to keep how in mind how your body reacts to certain ingredients when you are choosing a protein.
One thing to be cautious of when drinking a protein shake is sugar. Don’t add a bunch of honey, oats, sugar, etc. to your shake to try to make it taste better. Odds are no matter what you do to it it’s not going to taste that great, so you just gotta suck it up and chug. Try to keep the mindset of quality over taste every single time.
BASIC PROTEIN SHAKE INGREDIENTS:
WATER OR ALMOND MILK
PROTEIN POWDER (1 OR 2 SCOOPS DEPENDING)
¼ CUP FROZEN FRUIT
Blend it all up then you and your muscles are good to go!
Much love,
Freetage
