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Supplements: What works, what may and what doesn’t?
With technology advancing and an ever increasing knowledge about human physiology, it seems as though that there are more ergogenic aids out there than we know what to do with. With all the fancy packaging; use of sports professionals touting how well they work, and the overuse of elaborate scientific terminology, it’s no wonder that many people are ultimately suckered into buying nothing more than a bunch of shit. One of my most hated industry tricks is the term “proprietary blend”. There are 2 reasons that a company may use this term: 1) To hide the exact ratios of the ingredients in order to prevent other companies from copying their supplement or 2) To hide the fact that the supplement actually contains very little of the compounds it lists, and is usually full of filler compounds like corn flour. This is an easy way for them to save on production costs and maximize profits. So that $40 bottle of Super Pump that you bought most likely cost them around $5-$10 to make. Now with facts like this brought to your knowledge, you are probably asking yourself “why in the hell should I even bother anymore!?” Well fortunately for you there are compounds out there that are proven to work and some that may work. I shall outline some of the major ones that work, some of those that may work, and of course those that you shouldn’t bother with.
1)
Caffeine - Majority of the studies have shown that caffeine increases performance during prolonged endurance exercise and short-term intense exercise (ie. sprinting or activities lasting 4-6 seconds). Many people also find that since it’s a CNS stimulant, it also increases their mental focus and endurance. This is most likely why many pre-workout supplements have some amount of caffeine in it. Recent studies have shown that performance boosting effects of caffeine occur at modest levels of intake ( 1-3mg.kg-1 body mass, or 70-150mg caffeine). Although this is true, there also appears to be a relation between individual variability in required dosage and the response to the performance enhancement from caffeine. So basically some people are responders and some are non-responders. One thing that many of the reasearchers cannot agree on the precise mechanism in which caffeine acts as an ergogenic aid, and this means that further research needs to be conducted. Personally I feel that caffeine is a very beneficial and inexpensive supplement that should definitely be considered for supplemental use.
2)
Creatine- If you haven’t heard of creatine before then you have been living under a rock. There are many forms out there; creatine monohydrate (CM), kre-alklyn creatine (KA), creatine citrate and creatine HCL. I’d like to focus on the most widely used ones, which are also the most highly researched: creatine monohydrate and kre-alklyn. Creatine monohydrate is the granddaddy of sport supplement market. It’s been around for so long because well, it damn well works. According to Medline, over 600 studies have been published on creatine supplementation! The majority of these studies have shown that creatine is indeed beneficial for increasing muscular strength, power, and body mass, as well as increasing the synthesis of muscle contractile proteins. Now who in their right mind wouldn’t like more of that!?! I would go out on a limb and say if you want to get bigger, faster, and stronger without the use of anabolic steroids , then this is your best legal option available. A 900gram tub of this stuff can be as cheap as $20, and last 3-4 months. Now something a little newer on the market in the last decade is kre-alklyn creatine. According to Fusion bodybuilding, one of the companies that make kre-alklyn creatine “Purple-K is the King of Creatine because it contains patented Kre-Alkalyn. Kre-Alkalyn is the only creatine that does not convert to toxic creatinine before reaching your muscle. Regular creatine degrades by 90%, leaving only 10% usable product. Purple-K prevents this by letting you use 100% of the creatine you take. This makes Purple-K 10 times more effective than regular creatine “. Personally from what I’ve seen, the majority of the studies which tout KA’s superiority over regular CM have been researched by the companies that make these supplements. There are very little studies which are performed by outside researchers. The one study that I found claims that KA was much better than regular creatine monohydrate, but conclusions about the benefits of a certain supplement cannot be based on just one single study. My point is that when research is conducted by the company that produces the supplement, the results of the research can be biased and bent to positive outcomes. If KA was truly superior to CM, then why do so many pre-workout and post-workout recovery supplements have CM? I’ve personally tried KA and I did not notice any benefits during a 3 month cycle of it. Others who I’ve spoken to swear by it, and even claim that it’s better than CM. So honestly, unless you’re someone who follows purely anecdotal evidence, just stick with CM.
3)
Beta-Alanine- This is another supplement which has started gaining popularity in the past decade. B-Alanine (BA) is an amino acid deritive which has been shown to increase carnosine levels in skeletal muscle. This is important because carnosine appears to have an enhancing effect on the buffering capacity during high-intensity exercise. Basically this slows down that onset of the nasty lactic acid burn, and increases the rate at which it is buffered out of the muscles. Studies have shown that when couple with creatine monohydrate, it further increases the muscles ability to withstand fatigue due to high-intensity exercise. The majority of studies I have seen shown that a dosage between 3.2-6.4 grams appears to be the most effective. For the CM and BA combination, a daily dose of 10.5 grams CM and 3.2 grams BA was used in a double blind study. I have not yet tried this combination of compounds, but due to the promising research I believe I shall be giving it a shot soon.
4)
L-Leucine- This is a branched chain amino acid (BCAA) along with isoleucine and valine which act as signalling molecules to control muscle growth. Now if the words “signal muscle growth” don’t get you excited, then you are missing out. Research has revealed that 80% of the protein synthesis that occurs after feeding is the responsibility of amino acids. The same research also shows that out of all the BCAA’s, only Leucine is able to stimulate protein synthesis by itself. This powerhouse of an amino acid also has several other functions including; controlling protein breakdown rates, regulating insulin levels, stabilizing blood glucose levels, as well as bunch of other functions. Although this is true, amino acids like to work together so supplementing with Leucine alone is not suggested. Consuming a BCAA supplement or eating a high quality protein source along with an L-Leucine supplement would be the optimal way of doing this. An average daily intake I have found appears to be around 20-30 grams a day. Since 10% of a whole protein source is Leucine, you could most likely achieve those 20-30 grams through diet alone if eating 40-50 grams of protein spread out through 6 meals. Of course these daily requirements will vary depending on your muscle mass. So what’s my opinion on the matter? I guess I’m kind of on the fence about this one. Yes research has proven that L-Leucine and BCAA’s are beneficial when coupled with a diet that’s high in quality proteins, but is it really worth the extra money every month? So I shall leave this one up to you to decide.
5)
HMB- This supplement is actually a metabolite of the amino acid leucine. It is touted to increase strength and lean muscle mass but there is equally as many studies that contradict these claims. In the one study which I used as a large basis for my research, it actually proved that neither supplementation with HMB or HMB and creatine monohydrate improved muscular strength, leg power, endurance or anthropometry of professional rugby players undergoing a resistance training program. This was one of the only studies I found that examined professional athletes. The majority of the past research on HMB used untrained individuals as their test subjects. This leads me to believe that the strength increases and body composition changes were due to “beginner gains” rather than the purported ergogenic effects from the HMB. So my verdict on this one is to just stay away and spend your money on some creatine and caffeine.
6)
Whey protein- Well if you don’t know what whey protein is then you should probably re-think your life in the gym haha. If you only have the money for one supplement then whey protein would have to be my number one choice. Protein is important for growth and repair of your muscles, bones, skin, tendons, ligaments, hair, eyes and other tissues. There are wayyyy too many benefits to list, so I shall spare you for now. The big reason why protein is important to anyone who is trying to build or spare muscle is the effect that protein has on the nitrogen levels in your body. Negative nitrogen levels lead to catabolism (breakdown) whereas positive nitrogen levels lead to anabolism (growth). So if you make sure to consume some form of protein every 2-3hrs then you can maintain an anabolic state and ensure muscle growth, or spare your muscle if on a lower calorie diet. Now that you’ve got a brief lesson on why protein is important, you most likely want to know why whey protein is important. Well after a workout your body is essentially in a catabolic environment from the body utilizing metabolic fuels at an accelerated rate. These fuels include stored fatty acids, glucose and amino acids. So in order to combat this catabolic state, those metabolic fuels must be replenished. Whey protein is the best choice for replenishing amino acids due to its rapid absorption and complete/quality amino acid profile. Net amino acid uptake is greatly increased post workout (up to 1hr) due to the loss of all these metabolic fuels so having a post workout shake is one of the most important things you can do. So if you don’t already have some sitting on your shelf go out and get some now! This is the most important supplement you can invest your hard earned dollars in.
Now in no way is this a complete list of all the possible ergogenic aids available on the market. If I was to attempt to do that, I would have to be writing and researching 24/7, and by the time I publish it, there would probably be 100’s of more supplements and at least a 100 more research studies. I just thought that these ergogenic aids would be a good choice due to the amount of research done on them, and the purported benefits. Many of these ergogenic compounds are found in some of the most popular workout supplements on the market today. So does that mean that those workout supplements are the best way to go? Personally I would say no. The reason I say this is because of that nasty word “proprietary blend”. Those supplements may contain these compounds I mentioned, but there may not be enough of the actual compound to obtain the potential benefits that were shown in research studies. What I personally do is buy the compounds in bulk powder form. That way you can make your own pre-workout supplement with the proper dosages, less cost in the long wrong, and no useless fillers or other harsh compounds.
On a side note, you may have noticed that although this is more like a research paper than a blog article, I haven’t used proper APA form. I don’t take any credit for any of the data that I have put before you so don’t try and call me out for stealing. If you want more in depth information on anything I have discussed, then do like I did and read peer-reviewed journals. I find this is one of the best ways to gain a better understanding on anything of interest. So if you enjoyed reading this article, then throw me some other ideas of interest in this wonderful field of health and fitness. I’d be glad to give it another go.
References
Affouras.,A.,Vodenicharova.,K.,Shishmanova.,D.,Goranov.,K.,Stroychev.,K (2006) Clinical Trial comparing Kre-Alkalyn to Creatine Monohydrate. Greenberg Medical Center, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Candow.,D.,G.,Burke.,N.,C.,Palmer.,T.,S & Burke.,D.,G.,( 2006). Effect of Whey and Soy Protein Supplementation Combined With Resistance Training in Young Adults. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 16, 233-244
Glasiter.,M.,Lockey.,R.,A.,Corinne.,S.,A.,Staerck.,A.,Goodwin.,J.,E., & McInnes.,G., (2006). Creatine supplementation and multiple sprint running performance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 20(2), 273-277.
Hoffman.,J.,Ratamess.,N.,Kang.,J.,Mangine.,G.,Faigenbaum.,A., & Stout.,J., (2006). Effect of Creatine and ß-Alanine Supplementation on Performance and Endocrine Responses in Strength/Power Athletes. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 16, 430-446.
O’Conner.,D.,M., Crowe., M.,J., (2007) Effects of six weeks of p-hydroxy-p-methylbutyrate (hmb) andhmb/creatine\supplementation on strength, power, and anthropometry of highly trained athletes. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 21(2), 419-423.
Shimomura.,Y.,Inaguma.,A.,Watanabe.,S.,Yamamoto.,Y.,Muramatsu.,Y.,Bajotto.,G.,Sato.,J.,Shimomura.,N.,Kobayashi.,H., & Mawatari.,K.,(2010) Branched-Chain Amino Acid Supplementation Before Squat Exercise and Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness
Wilson,J., (2006) Leucine’s Effects on Muscle Growth and Body Composition – Questions / Answers and Practical Applications. Journal of hyperplasia research 4 (1).
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