Whatever you’re into, whether it’s weightlifting, bodybuilding, athletics of whatever sort or just plain keeping fit, there’s a huge, huge and often pretty bewildering range of sports supplements out there that will complement your training routine. But which ones do you really need? From instant whey proteins to amino acids, nitric oxide (Jack3d being a good example of a popular one) there’s loads of stuff out there. If you want to get a good overview about the essentials, then read on…

Find yourself a nutritionist
Because it can be a bit daunting, many people who want to get serious about their fitness regime – it’s not essential that you do, but can be a bit of a minefield for a newbie.

Protein Powders
Found in food like meat, fish, dairy, and soy, pulse and vegetable products, protein is essential for building muscle. The three principal types used in supplements are:

• Whey
• Casein
• Soy

Found in milk, whey protein is arguably the best and most popular of this trio of proteins, because it’s fast-absorbing has the highest value of providing branched-chain amino acids. In this way, instant whey helps build and maintain muscle mass. And not only this, but whey is also an antioxidant, helping to jack the body’s immune system, helping in the fight against regime-ruining illnesses.

There are three principle types of shake you can get:

• Low carb, low-calorie, low fat: perfect for weight loss while maintaining muscle mass
• High protein, high calorie, low fat: perfect for muscle gain
• Medium carbs, medium calories: perfect for a quick and easy meal replacement

Amino Acid Supplements
The essential building blocks of protein (the stuff your muscles are made of), amino acid supplements provide the combination of essential amino acids the body requires to grow and repair itself – and ones that the body simply doesn’t produce itself, and must therefore get from food sources – or supplements. Found in protein-rich sources such as meat, fish, dairy, soy, vegetable, pulse and grain products, athletes also commonly complement their intake with supplements.

Nitric Oxide
Necessary for intercellular communication, nitric oxide is made by the body and is required for all physiological processes that take place inside the human body, enhancing blood flow to the furthest corners of the body. This is therefore a really important supplement for those who want to build muscle.

N.B.
It’s entirely possible to overdose with NO2 and common side effects can include (but are by no means limited to) weakness, diarrhoea and nausea. You find out your optimum level by “tolerance mapping”, whereby you take a small dosage for one week, recording the associated benefits and side effects, and continue raising the dosage over a number of weeks until the optimum level is reached – which, if course, will have you seeing the most benefits with the least amount of side effects.

Many of us fall into the same patterns. With summer on the horizon, we start working out in May with the hope we will look good in our swimsuits. Late in the year, the holidays come around, you eat too much at all the parties, and then you wake up on January 2nd looking and feeling bad again.

It’s time to break that cycle. This year, try to be proactive by committing to working out and eating right during the fall and into the holidays. The gyms will be less crowded, and it’s a great time to develop good habits that will stay with you through the year.

Think about starting some new exercises. If you haven’t been doing weight training, then maybe this is a good time to start.

Also, if you’re going to try something like more weight training, then take a look at protein powder and creatine. These are important supplements if you’re serious about building muscle, but keep in mind that overall nutrition and eating habits are equally important. These items should supplement your diet. Do your research and consult your doctor or a nutritionist, but things like whey protein are very popular with people looking to get in shape and look fit.

It’s also a great time to focus on cardio. Many people lose sight of this as the weather gets bad. They stay inside and get less exercise. Now is the time to be consistent and get your cardio in the gym. Find out what works best for you – the bike, treadmill or other machines.

Good luck, and you’ll feel better after those holiday dinners!

Does fat make us Fat?

Everyday in the news is some information about the fat.

We all need it, we all eat it.

What are the facts?

Here’s a simple guide to fats, the good, the bad and the ugly.

First realize that fats are a necessary part of any diet. We need fats to make hormones, build and repair tissues, and for energy. Gram per gram, fat provides about more than twice the energy of carbohydrates (9 calories per gram vs 4 calories per gram for carbs). Fats also help us absorb certain vitamins and satiates our appetite more than carbs or protein.

But there really are good fats and bad fats and the Cliff notes version of this column is this — if a fat is solid or semi-solid at room temperature, you should avoid it.

Most dietary fats fall in to three categories: Saturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, and mono unsaturated fats.

Protein is by far the single most important supplement/nutrient you can consume in your quest for size and strength. Just the mere mention of it, however, gives most doctors and dietitians an anxiety attack. I?m sure you?ve heard much of the unfounded non-sense: ?All you need is food; supplements aren?t necessary.?, ?Too much protein can lead to kidney and liver problems.?, ?An average person can only absorb 30 ? 40 grams of protein at one sitting.?, ?Vegetable protein is just as good as meat, fish or milk protein.?, ?Eating more protein will make you fat.?, and so on and so on. There is not one reputable, reliable study to support any of these previous statements, and I cannot tell you how tired I am of dealing with this groundless garbage.

Protein repairs and maintains everything in our bodies from hormones to muscles to bones. Proteins are made up of building blocks called amino acids. There are nine essential amino acids. Essential meaning we have to ingest these for survival because our bodies cannot manufacture them. Many researchers now believe we have many other amino acids that should be considered ?conditionally essential?, because of their significance and our inefficiency at producing them. These include; glutamine, arginine, cysteine, taurine, glycine, tyrosine and proline.

If your protein intake or quality is low your body will get the essential aminos it needs from its most abundant storage system, muscle tissue. Knowing this explains why strict vegetarians, especially vegans, have a lower percentage of muscle than dairy, meat and fish eating humans and a harder time building muscle or strength in the gym. The quality of protein inherent to a vegetarian diet, especially vegans?, is dismal at best and a few studies have shown vege males have less testosterone then their meat eating counterparts; especially true if soy is part of their diet. What else should you expect consuming food inferior to human physiology?

Consciously consuming a diet low in protein has no benefits; is not based on good science, and merely a matter of ignorance. There are two things that begin with the letter ?P? that I would never cut back on; one is protein; the other ends in ?Y?. Having said that, how much protein should one consume? The International Society of Sports Nutrition, in a 2007 position statement, concluded that bodybuilders and strength/power athletes require just under a gram of protein per pound per day; consistent with my recommendation of 1 g/lb of lean body weight. However, if you train intensely, which is how you should train, empirical data suggests you may need upwards of 1.5g/lb to 2g/lb. Have no fear; this extra protein will not make you fat.

Protein, in and of itself has little to do with getting fat; protein consumption is inversely related to fat accumulation. The more protein you eat the more fat you burn as fuel. Protein consumption is directly related to thermogenesis and satiety through multiple mechanisms. It?s what you eat more than how much you eat that will determine how lean strong and muscular you will get.

A calorie is not a calorie. The assertion that macro-nutrients are all processed the same between individuals is just foolish. This is the basis for the calorie theory. A calorie of a carbohydrate does not equate to a calorie of protein when being metabolized in our bodies. Protein calories are not likely to be stored as fat as compared to carbs, because protein requires more energy to metabolize and assimilate and has numerous functions. Carbs are simply an energy source, and if not used as fuel, they are stored as fat without much effort; carbs also stimulate the release of high amounts insulin, the fat storage hormone. The higher your insulin, the more fat you’ll store. Keeping your insulin levels low is a key to becoming and staying lean. As an added bonus, protein helps to stimulate the secretion of glucagon, which helps mitigate the fat storage effects of insulin.

A training program in the form of progressive resistance exercise builds muscular size and strength. In order for a training routine to be productive, however, it must first provide the correct stimulus to induce an adaptive response. Second, a workout that stimulates and adaptive response must provide for recovery. Third, in order for recovery and subsequent size and strength increases to occur, nutrients, which are of limited supply in our bodies, must be provided. It is clear that the most important nutrient for recovery is protein. In particular, essential amino acids contained in complete protein sources; dairy, meats, and fish. It is well documented that essential amino acids consumed before, during, and after resistance training boost strength and size gains.

HMB is a metabolite of the essential amino acid L-leucine. During many studies on protein effects, L-leucine seemed to be the single greatest contributor to muscle protein synthesis. A recent study examined the effects of an essential amino acid based product, Muscle Armor (MA); manufactured by Abbott Laboratories contains beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate (HMB).

Seventeen healthy men were randomly assigned to one of two groups and performed twelve weeks of periodized heavy resistance training while supplementing with either MA or an isocaloric, isonitrogenous placebo (Control group (CG)). Every two weeks the subject?s strength and power were measured and blood was drawn. More-over the blood draws taken were performed pre, mid and post-training. Researchers found the MA group affected training induced changes in muscular size and strength to a significantly greater extent than the CG. Also found, was reduced levels of circulating muscle damage markers creatine kinase and malondealdehyde compared with the CG. In addition, the MA group experienced increases in resting and exercise-induced testosterone and resting growth hormone levels with reduced pre-exercise cortisol levels.
(Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2009;41(5):1111-1121)