Supplament reviews and a testamonial.

[ejsandstrom]

So I started working out about 2 months ago. I was just going to the Y and doing all of the things that you see on TV, like on the bow flex commercial. I was trying to do 3 sets of 20 reps. I was doing fine but the next day I was wrecked. I would make it about 30 min at about a 14min/mile pace on the treadmill or elliptical. I was also doing the LES MILLS bodypump class, barley making it with moderate weight. This went on for about 2 weeks.

Having been an Ind rep for Market America, I was well aware of the benefits of supplamentation. I also knew that I would need some other things than just your general multis and others. So I took a trip to GNC and asked the neanderthal (long story) behind the counter. The only help he gave me was to point me towards [THIS}http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3543057. It seemed to be a good all around package. I started taking it according to their directions. The results were amazing. After the first week I was doing interval training on the treadmill for an hour with out problem and could go on longer. All of my regular exercises went up in weight, some moderately others by quite a bit. I was dropping more weight. I eventually ran out of the wheyabolic 60 and needed a replacement. So when I was at SAMs I picked up the EAS whey. No decrease in results.

I was also swilling at least one energy drink per day sometimes 2. I needed to break that habit, so back to GNC http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3257872&cp=2167077.2325087 And got this. One scoop in the morning, gave me more energy and no sugar. Then it was one scoop before work out. My weight in Bodypump went up again, moderately but up still. I wanted a post work out and went with Dark Matter. http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3052832

Now you may say that this could all be coincidence and that the longer I worked out the stronger I got, and that was the difference.

However what really made me a believer was that, I have been out of town for the week for work and there is no Y in town so I drove about an hour to the closest one. It never crossed my mind that I hadn't done my regiment for the day. I got on the tread mill and after 30 minutes I was in hurting status, I pushed it another 10 and called it quits. On to the weights I went. I struggled and had to go down 10 to 25% depending on the exercises. I woke up this morning and I was sore.

So I guess the moral of my story is that no matter how "in shape" you are or are not, supplamentation may help. I know it has for me.

P.S. I have NFI in any of the listed products, and have switched from GNC to Vitamin World due to lower prices.

[adp113]

I am not a big supplement fan and here is why.  Last year, Mens Health magazine did a review of the supplement industry. It harsh review of a shady industry, and Mens Health takes a lot of advertising money from the people the article went after.  Most of the stuff being sold is really untested and unproven.  Ever notice that a supplement does not stay on the market long?  It's because most people figure out that the stuff does not work and then move onto something else in search of that quick fix.  Most of the stuff sold is just a renamed version of something from the past.  GNC is one of the worst offenders when it comes to renaming.  The claims made by the mfg's are never tested or proven, this is why any statements made carry the "not validated by the FDA" type of warning.  The industry is not regulated and its really the "science" wild wild west when it comes to claims and facts.  The quality control on these products is totally lacking.  There is no certification that what is on the label is what really goes in the bottle.  This is stuff I would rather not put in my system.

You mentioned being wrecked the day after working out.  This is going to be due to diet and fitness level.  If working out is new to you, yes you will be sore, yes you will be tired, and yes you will feel like hell.  You also mentioned having trouble keeping a 14 min/mile pace on the treadmill.  That pace is just faster than walking.  My guess is that your fitness level was rather low, armchair athlete low - I'm not knocking you, after all you did make the decision to get fit and that is always a good move.  So, struggling in the beginning would be normal.  A few weeks at the gym and you would see those 14 min/miles drop to 9 minute miles as your overall fitness level increases.  Hard work and time are the only things that are going to increase fitness levels and muscle mass.  I know this country has a love affair with pills and magic fixes, we really are a pill nation.  The only magic pills that will boost performance and muscle building are not available at GNC - you would have to see Barry Bonds, Mark MaGuire, Sammy Sosa, and Rodger Clemens as they will tell you what to get and who is brewing it up.  Its the really good illegal stuff like HGH and clenbuterol.  Next, all the stuff you see on TV is marketing hype.  The Bowflex guy with the unreal 6 pack abs does not work out just 20 minutes a day on a bowflex.   It took that guy years of hard work, strict diet, and self control to get chiseled like that.  Bowflex is a great system but the results claimed in the commercial are far from what someone will see in just 6-8 weeks.  Try seeing a registered dietitian and get some sessions with a professional sports trainer or kineisiologist.  A Vo2 max test would be helpful as well.  This test will determine your potential to get fit as well as your natural fitness level.  Genetics are involved, not everyone will be world class with the right training - this is a whole different subject for another post.

I would be interested to know what your pre-working out days BMI was, height and weight, as well as your typical daily diet.

[TrashCanMan]

I would like to see 100 averagely fit people doing the same work out on supplaments as another 100 averagely fit people taking placebos and see what the results are...

[adp113]

I would like to see 100 averagely fit people doing the same work out on supplaments as another 100 averagely fit people taking placebos and see what the results are...

It was already done with either Xenadrine or Hydroxycut.  The group taking Hydroxycut, which was supposed to cut fat, actually gained weight and not muscle weight.  The placebo group lost weight(fat) and gained muscle.  Hydroxycut has since since been pulled from the shelves due to health risks associated with ingredients. 

There is a really good reason why the major drug companies are not pursuing clinical trials for miracle drugs like the ones the supplement industry is pushing.  It's the old, if it sounds to good to be true..... 

[ejsandstrom]

I am not a big supplement fan and here is why.  Last year, Mens Health magazine did a review of the supplement industry. It harsh review of a shady industry, and Mens Health takes a lot of advertising money from the people the article went after.  Most of the stuff being sold is really untested and unproven.  Ever notice that a supplement does not stay on the market long?  It's because most people figure out that the stuff does not work and then move onto something else in search of that quick fix.  Most of the stuff sold is just a renamed version of something from the past.  GNC is one of the worst offenders when it comes to renaming.  The claims made by the mfg's are never tested or proven, this is why any statements made carry the "not validated by the FDA" type of warning.  The industry is not regulated and its really the "science" wild wild west when it comes to claims and facts.  The quality control on these products is totally lacking.  There is no certification that what is on the label is what really goes in the bottle.  This is stuff I would rather not put in my system.

You mentioned being wrecked the day after working out.  This is going to be due to diet and fitness level.  If working out is new to you, yes you will be sore, yes you will be tired, and yes you will feel like hell.  You also mentioned having trouble keeping a 14 min/mile pace on the treadmill.  That pace is just faster than walking.  My guess is that your fitness level was rather low, armchair athlete low - I'm not knocking you, after all you did make the decision to get fit and that is always a good move.  So, struggling in the beginning would be normal.  A few weeks at the gym and you would see those 14 min/miles drop to 9 minute miles as your overall fitness level increases.  Hard work and time are the only things that are going to increase fitness levels and muscle mass.  I know this country has a love affair with pills and magic fixes, we really are a pill nation.  The only magic pills that will boost performance and muscle building are not available at GNC - you would have to see Barry Bonds, Mark MaGuire, Sammy Sosa, and Rodger Clemens as they will tell you what to get and who is brewing it up.  Its the really good illegal stuff like HGH and clenbuterol.  Next, all the stuff you see on TV is marketing hype.  The Bowflex guy with the unreal 6 pack abs does not work out just 20 minutes a day on a bowflex.   It took that guy years of hard work, strict diet, and self control to get chiseled like that.  Bowflex is a great system but the results claimed in the commercial are far from what someone will see in just 6-8 weeks.  Try seeing a registered dietitian and get some sessions with a professional sports trainer or kineisiologist.  A Vo2 max test would be helpful as well.  This test will determine your potential to get fit as well as your natural fitness level.  Genetics are involved, not everyone will be world class with the right training - this is a whole different subject for another post.

I would be interested to know what your pre-working out days BMI was, height and weight, as well as your typical daily diet.

I am not an "AS SEEN ON TV" kind of guy. So I know that there is no quick fix magic pill. The main reason that I know that what I am taking, works for me, is that when I didnt take it my performance suffered. I obviously cant know what would happen if I supplamented every other week or some such thing. I dispise 99% of the crap sold as work out stuff.

My diet was, and still is moderatly crap. What I am impressed about is that with just a small diet change and excercise addition, I have been loosing weight.

I had concidered doing an o2 sat test both resting and durring excercise, but its kind of expencive, and Im not trying to get huge, or work twards running a marathon. Just get back to my HS weight or there about.

Before I started working out I was
210lbs
5'8"
24% body fat (Actually I cant remember if it was a % of body fat or BMI)

Now I am down to 191. Not sure how much my BMI has changed. But my man boobs have gotten alot smaller, and I punched a new hole in my belt.

[jetta2337]

You need to watch the supplements close. I workout all the time and have fairly hard for the past 6 years. When I started I used supplements quite a bit then settled down to the whey. I get my cholesterol checked every year. I used the whey for about a year and got my cholesterol check and it was unreal high! I couldnt believe it and didnt know where it came from. I eat good I workout and it shouldnt have jumped that high. One morning while taking my supplement it came to me that the only thing that I changed in that year was adding the whey. I quit it and my cholesterol went back down to where it should be.
From that point on I quit all that crap because as adp113 most if it is untested and just crap. I feel better doing it just natural. Find foods that will supplement your workout. Broccoli is a great food for working out. It is a natural testosterone booster.
I have also changed my workout a ton also. I quit going for mass and have now gone to lean muscle. I went elk hunting last year and was getting left in the dust. I was so out of shape in the just hiking and endurance aspect of it that I am now changing that. Most supplements just go for the adding bulk on. 

[adp113]

Diet is the biggest key to losing weight.  Weight loss is rather simple, expend more calories than you take in and you will lose weight.  There is no magic here.  I know there are too many to count diets out there.  What you should seek is an eating lifestyle change.  Here are some of the basics:

Eliminate butter, sauces/dressings, empty calorie drinks (such as soda), salts (but not all salts), and fats (but not all fats)
Plan your meals before you shop, its much easier.  Each meal should be portioned out such as this  4-6 oz of lean protein, 1 cup of vegetables, 1/4 to 1/2 cup of a carbohydrate.  Breakfast should be a protein such as an egg white burrito.

Bill Phillips - Body for Life is a good book for following the eating and meal planning.  Easy to read and follow.  Most libraries carry this book.

In general, if you can't pronounce the ingredients you should not be eating more than a serving a week of it.  Serving size is about the size of a deck of cards.

I have a blind friend who I was cooking for, he went from 290lbs to 242lbs in less than 60 days with diet and little exercise.  Sadly he thought he had things under control and went back to eating shit - so I stopped cooking for him when is weight started to rise again.  He is now over 300lbs and still insisting that he has it under control and will lose weight without changing anything.

As for the BMI, at 5"8" 210lbs your BMI was in the highest category
Dropping to 191 dropped you down a BMI category - congrats

At 30 years old, I was 5'9" and almost 190lbs
By 31 years old, I was 5"9" and just a hair under 150lbs.  I had run a sub 4 hour 50km (31.1 miles) race, run a 3:10 marathon and qualified for Boston marathon.  My resting heart rate was down around 41-43 bpm and I could run along at 6:50 min/mile and my heart rate would not be above 130bpm.

The first 10% of body weight really falls off fast, after that it takes some work.  If you needs some extra help or coaching (free), just shoot me and email or PM.  I'm glad to you took the first tough step and kept with it.