Supplements

There have been quite a few questions lately about supplements so I thought I would make a sticky on the subject giving a bit of general advice and then everyone can post their experiences and questions in one place.

Please note that supplements are in no way endorsed or recommended by the Royal Navy/Royal Marines or PRMC.co.uk. Taking supplements is no substitute for a good diet and you can build your fitness level up and complete training without ever taking them.

First off, a bit of info into the different goals when exercising:

Body builders aim for strength (the maximum amount of force your muscles can apply) and achieve this by lifting big weights, which results in large muscles that are made up of fewer layers separated by large layers of energy stores. The problem with this is they are also heavy which makes running and lifting your own body weight very difficult (some body builders can struggle to do a single press up).

For Royal Marines training you really need lean muscle, which is why a lot of recruits/marines you see won’t actually look that big. In order to achieve lean muscle you need to do body weight exercises (where you use your own body weight as resistance), this results in highly toned muscles. Toned muscles are made up of many layers separated by thin layers of energy stores. Toned muscles are perfect for Royal Marines, they are light which makes running easier, powerful (the speed that your muscles can apply force) and also good for stamina and endurance.

Now on to the actual supplements:

The problem with many supplements is that they are designed for body builders and contain ingredients which promote large muscles (which you don’t want) taking these supplements will not only be a waste of money but won’t help you with your goal of lean muscle either. Rather than run though the different products I will go through some of the most common ingredients so you can make your own informed decision if you choose to try supplements. Be aware of the advice given by the manufactures or supplement websites as this will be biased and some of the ingredients have no medical proof they even work.

Protein

Protein is the essential building block of muscle, no one will argue that it does not help muscle growth be it for bodybuilding or toning up. However, if you have a good diet chances are you are getting enough protein already and if you take too much you will literally be peeing your money away. If you do buy protein stay away from the big brands as you are just paying for the name.

Creatine

Creatine is a naturally occurring acid in the body that supplies energy to muscle cells for short bursts of energy (good for lifting weights but doesn’t help much with endurance). It is also proven to increase the size of your muscles by drawing water into them – again this is not particularly good for building lean muscle.

HMB

HMB (or Beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate if want to be clever) is naturally occurring in the body and believed to increase muscle mass and decrease muscle breakdown (in other words scientists are fairly certain it does but at the same time it might do nothing at all). Taking three grams per day may help reduce muscle breakdown, assist with muscle repair and support higher endurance.

Glutamine

Glutamine is a non-essential amino acid, research shows that it can help support the immune system as well as reduce healing/recover time after injury. Glutamine can also convert into alanine which is an amino acid that the liver in turn converts into glucose which supplies extra energy to muscles during a long fizz session.

Please ask any questions you have about any other supplements you come across or post your own advice and experiences.

 

i was looking to get something for myself which would help me with my 'lean muscle' building as my diet sucks real bad and my recovery time and progress is extremely slow. do u recommend any product because i dont know what I'm looking for. if i become ill, i am using at my own risk.

thanks

james

 

If your diet sucks then sort that out instantly mate. Look up some stuff online. You can take all the suppliments in the world,but without knowing some basics about what and when to eat it wont help at all.

And none of the above will make you ill. Nothing is a magical pill. Get your diet sorted,then look for a good whey protien,combine this with some carbs post workout and thats all you need mate.

Diet,diet ,diet!

 

Purple Wraath by Controlled Labs, and Xtend by Scivation are both excellent BCAA supplements. Absolutely ideal for immediately before/during/after training, if your goal is to maintain lean muscle mass, but expend calories by means of fat and glycgen.

http://www.discount-supplements.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=7651

http://www.discount-supplements.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=4119

The watermelon flavour of the Xtend is by far the best tasting supplement I have ever used.

My favourite supplement by an absolute country mile though would have to be Torrent by Universal:

http://www.tropicanafitness.com/?session=VRYDCJYTUUWFYTNGUMBHZTXK&product=1868

And before anyone says anything about what a load of b*text deleted**text deleted**text deleted*t supplements are; In 6 weeks time I will hopefully have my degree in Sports Nutrition. And in 2007 I won my first (and last) Bodybuilding competition. Therefore I can honestly say I believe there are some supplements out there that can be of great benefit to you, whatever your fitness goals, provided your diet is up to scratch like Sam Forrest has stated.

 

I used to do some moderate weight-training and would take a simple protein powder as well as a period using creatine. I can see how the protein powder could still be of use to anyone training who is naturally a scrawny bugger and needs a little extra help, but not so sure about the creatine as I always found the weight gain through water retention to be not inconsiderable.

Only one I am currently considering using is glutamine for the recovery aspects. Don't need any extra size/weight as I'd be completely unable to do the bodyweight exercises. Would much prefer the strength/weight ratio of a climber to that of a body-builder for Marines stuff.

 

I would like to let for those that have not had experiance with supplements that not all supplements work for each person, some people find certain products work at all and others swear by them, this has also been linked to brands eg USN may not work for you but EAS does...its an odd thing since essentially they are the same chemical make up but its something that is fairly common.

I myself use

Universal Animal Pak : which is essentially a multi vitamin but also comes with liver and joint support which i can deffinatly feel working.

Universal Animal Stak : a testosterone booster that i cycle as is recommended on the package ( some people i know find it does not work for them )

A BCAA : Its a good way to get the protien needed

A Protein shake : Helps with calories and is nice and light to have post workout or during a long run

Glutamine : Never really been able to determine that it deffinatly helps with recovery but use it relgiously

Thoughts on creatine : When i was more focused on muscle size and weight i found it useful but now that i spend workouts in the gym focusing on muscle endurance and strength i dont find it that useful

But besides for all these supplement ideas quality food and rest are the best things you can put into your body

 

yeah i think i might need somethin like this. before i started training harder i was close to 11 stone. I'm only 5foot 7 so quite short aswell. i just done my pjft the other day and got weighed in at just under 10 stone. *text deleted* kinda close to the limits for joining.

ive been watchin what i eat, so just cutting out all the fried food and rubbish. but just eating normal. i cant seem to put the weight on when I'm training. and i eat loads. I'm *text deleted* look in to the protein shake i think.

 

If your still increasing with strength and endurance then i wouldn't worry too much about your weight gain, but yeah go for a shake if you want to add a little more weight to your frame...

I cant stop eating the chocolate here since its so much better than home so i see myself putting some fat on rather soon

 

Lee.Just out of interest,whats your daily eating like? Any chance you can give a rough idea of what you eat on a training day?

Its only when you step back and look at what you eat that you can workout if your getting too much/too little.

 

dunno it varies a bit. normal day though. breakfast with cereal and a bananna or similar. then lunch, a couple of ham salad rolls. or tuna bagette thing. it depends. then dinner, big bowl of pasta with tomato sauce. then at night i eat a bit of *text deleted**text deleted*e. like biscuits or sweets. ive stopped drinking, might just get back on the whiskys. I'm sure that ll put on the weight.

thats just an average day. thats not all i eat, just an example. after a big run i normally eat a bit more. i never eat too much before exercise, normally after.

 

I would say your not getting enough food, 3 meals a day should be split into 6 or 4 meals a day and you should start off with portions you can handle and then slowly increase the amount you eat by the sounds of it your not getting enough calories and protein to pick up lean mass. If you want i can find the online articles i read about what you should eat and how to structure the eating and such.

 

Suppliments??

Just wondering about suppliments.

I gym regularly (5 times a week) and i was wondering if i take any suppliments will it show up and effect my application in my medical etc.

The suppliments i am thinking of taking are:

Noxplode this contains creatine

and also thermobol, its a fat burner, i was just wondering that if i do take any of these will they effect my application??

cheers

 

yes but your reps arnt *text deleted* drop by anything dramatic. Youll probably find yourself doing more reps than you would have been doing if you hadnt taken it. but thats just my opinion on supp's, worked for me in the past. Some people say differently

and no to the fat burner, no good for you!

 

I disagree with this thread completely, you should be taking as much Protien as you can get.

See my recently added threads.