what supps you take, bruh?

[Manveer]

I threw out a little bit of remaining creatine I had to make space in a cabinet. Probably not going to get more - never noticed that it made a difference.

BCAAs may be the dumbest thing I’ve wasted money on.

[SeanHerbison]

BCAAs may be the dumbest thing I’ve wasted money on.

Wow, that's pretty good. I've wasted money on stuff that's way worse than that. BCAAs at least have a plausible mechanism for why they should/might work, even if it doesn't actually pan out in practice.

Even sticking with supplements, while I don't buy much now (creatine, caffeine, and whey), I bought all sorts of way dumber stuff when I was in college.

[platypus]

BCAAs may be the dumbest thing I’ve wasted money on.

I tried some recently to assist with preserving muscle mass while I lose weight. After taking them for a while, then not taking them for a while, I'm pretty sure they did absolutely nothing. The powder is delicious, though.

[SeanHerbison]

The powder is delicious, though.

You mean the flavoring is delicious, I assume. I would hazard a guess that you didn't get unflavored. That stuff is bitter.

[FredM]

BCAAs may be the dumbest thing I’ve wasted money on.

Wow, that's pretty good. I've wasted money on stuff that's way worse than that. BCAAs at least have a plausible mechanism for why they should/might work, even if it doesn't actually pan out in practice.

Even sticking with supplements, while I don't buy much now (creatine, caffeine, and whey), I bought all sorts of way dumber stuff when I was in college.

It makes me sad to think how much cool equipment I could have bought (or months of coaching) with the money I've wasted on BBM Peri. After switching to just creatine then switching off, it's clear I'm a complete non responder. And that was only 6-8 months of supply.

Now my only supplement is caffeine and whey. And caffeine only on pr days. And whey only on cuts and a little on maintenance.

[CeeKa]

How do I test if I respond to creatine if my recovery is sub-optimal anyway and my training fluctuates more than I'd like?

[BenM]

How do I test if I respond to creatine if my recovery is sub-optimal anyway and my training fluctuates more than I'd like?

Stronger by Science talked about this on a recent podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/t ... 0446956678

I think from memory it was to do with whether you gain weight or not when you start taking it. But if your weight is fluctuating anyway that might not work.

[BigE]

I changed from ON Oats and Whey, to ON Whey, and started to experience a little immediate and significant delayed muscle soreness. I’ve added L-glutamine to see if it helps, as one of my friends suggested. I feel back to normal today. It’ll take some more time to see if not merely psychosomatic.

[cwd]

How do I test if I respond to creatine if my recovery is sub-optimal anyway and my training fluctuates more than I'd like?

Since creatine is cheap and safe, I don't even worry whether I respond. I just pop a spoonful into my breakfast cereal each morning and don't think about it.

Presumably, on weeks when I eat relatively little red meat, it might do something for me. Other weeks I'll just excrete the extra creatine harmlessly.

The effect is pretty small and hard to detect anyway. Except in vegans -- they can get a big benefit.

[Wilhelm]

I eat a modest amount of meat, and almost no carbs, so i continue to use creatine.

I also have in mind that it may directly improve the muscle building process.
Again, it's cheap, my diet indicates it will be useful to me for energy production, and i cannot ignore (at the price) the possible added effect on muscle building.
I have 3 grams in water in the morning, and use 1/4tsp in each of three whey meals.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28595527

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2109188/

[5hout]

Just got a 1kg sack of Betaine. Recent Stronger by Science article/podcast made it sound like it might help, but probably wouldn't hurt, and it's crazy cheap so figure why not give it a try (also still using creatine).

[Idlehands]

BCAAs may be the dumbest thing I’ve wasted money on.

Wow, that's pretty good. I've wasted money on stuff that's way worse than that. BCAAs at least have a plausible mechanism for why they should/might work, even if it doesn't actually pan out in practice.

Even sticking with supplements, while I don't buy much now (creatine, caffeine, and whey), I bought all sorts of way dumber stuff when I was in college.

More than 400mg of caffeine adversely affects testosterone. I'm still trying to process this info. Ugh.

[James]

Really? I have never heard that and would like to know more.

[Idlehands]

Really? I have never heard that and would like to know more.

Friend works with a team on human performance and the recent stuff came on on that on the research they follow. I steal all tips and tricks from them. Keep cortisol low and better sleep and hormones!
But yah. Boohiss on the caffeine one. that's like 2 cups a day. fuck.

[mouse]

Really? I have never heard that and would like to know more.

Friend works with a team on human performance and the recent stuff came on on that on the research they follow. I steal all tips and tricks from them. Keep cortisol low and better sleep and hormones!
But yah. Boohiss on the caffeine one. that's like 2 cups a day. fuck.

I quick googled this yesterday as a recovering caffeine addict and the little I could comprehend made it sound like a ~200mg dose was beneficial to training/test levels, but +~400 dose is what bumped your cortisol and messed with test levels, but it sounded like that was just during training. Sounded like short term decreases not long term...

I dunno I'm not a doc or particularly bright...

[TimK]

Abstract

Introduction: Interest in the use of caffeine as an ergogenic aid has increased since the International Olympic Committee lifted the partial ban on its use. Caffeine has beneficial effects on various aspects of athletic performance, but its effects on training have been neglected.

Purpose: To investigate the acute effect of caffeine on the exercise-associated increases in testosterone and cortisol in a double-blind crossover study.

Methods: Twenty-four professional rugby-league players ingested caffeine doses of 0, 200, 400, and 800 mg in random order 1 hr before a resistance-exercise session. Saliva was sampled at the time of caffeine ingestion, at 15-min intervals throughout each session, and 15 and 30 min after the session. Data were log-transformed to estimate percent effects with mixed modeling, and effects were standardized to assess magnitudes.

Results: Testosterone concentration showed a small increase of 15% (90% confidence limits, +/- 19%) during exercise. Caffeine raised this concentration in a dose-dependent manner by a further small 21% (+/- 24%) at the highest dose. The 800-mg dose also produced a moderate 52% (+/- 44%) increase in cortisol. The effect of caffeine on the testosterone:cortisol ratio was a small decline (14%; +/- 21%).

Conclusion: Caffeine has some potential to benefit training outcomes via the anabolic effects of the increase in testosterone concentration, but this benefit might be counteracted by the opposing catabolic effects of the increase in cortisol and resultant decline in the testosterone:cortisol ratio.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18458357/

Yeah, definitely not going to avoid caffeine based on this study.

[mouse]

Abstract

Introduction: Interest in the use of caffeine as an ergogenic aid has increased since the International Olympic Committee lifted the partial ban on its use. Caffeine has beneficial effects on various aspects of athletic performance, but its effects on training have been neglected.

Purpose: To investigate the acute effect of caffeine on the exercise-associated increases in testosterone and cortisol in a double-blind crossover study.

Methods: Twenty-four professional rugby-league players ingested caffeine doses of 0, 200, 400, and 800 mg in random order 1 hr before a resistance-exercise session. Saliva was sampled at the time of caffeine ingestion, at 15-min intervals throughout each session, and 15 and 30 min after the session. Data were log-transformed to estimate percent effects with mixed modeling, and effects were standardized to assess magnitudes.

Results: Testosterone concentration showed a small increase of 15% (90% confidence limits, +/- 19%) during exercise. Caffeine raised this concentration in a dose-dependent manner by a further small 21% (+/- 24%) at the highest dose. The 800-mg dose also produced a moderate 52% (+/- 44%) increase in cortisol. The effect of caffeine on the testosterone:cortisol ratio was a small decline (14%; +/- 21%).

Conclusion: Caffeine has some potential to benefit training outcomes via the anabolic effects of the increase in testosterone concentration, but this benefit might be counteracted by the opposing catabolic effects of the increase in cortisol and resultant decline in the testosterone:cortisol ratio.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18458357/

Yeah, definitely not going to avoid caffeine based on this study.

Yeah this is the one I read...

Just finished of one off the 300mg Reign cans just before I clicked back here haha... got another one in the desk for tomorrow on my way home before training...

[Rhavok82]

Caffeine, Ephedrine, Creatine, a Multi, Fish Oil

[BenM]

Really? I have never heard that and would like to know more.

Friend works with a team on human performance and the recent stuff came on on that on the research they follow. I steal all tips and tricks from them. Keep cortisol low and better sleep and hormones!
But yah. Boohiss on the caffeine one. that's like 2 cups a day. fuck.

Geeze, how strong is the coffee you drink? I thought a regular cup was like 90mg.

I definitely think there's something to keeping habitual caffeine intake in an optimal range though. Since I went completely off caffeine for a few months a while back, I've been making a point to limit myself to two cups a day, although I'll occasionally take a larger dose preworkout. Anecdotally I feel a little better, mood and sleep wise, and I feel as if the preworkout has more of an impact.

Semi related to this thread, I remembered this week that I had a big bag of beta alanine in the cupboard - I used to take it preworkout, but stopped ages ago. Got sent a blog article this week reminding me that it's a supplement that needs to be taken regularly to have any effect so I've been taking a scoop every morning with my creatine, figured I may as well use it up.

It's impossible to tell if it's doing anything for my training, but that paresthesia every morning does act as a bit of an extra stimulant to get me going!

[Idlehands]

Really? I have never heard that and would like to know more.

Friend works with a team on human performance and the recent stuff came on on that on the research they follow. I steal all tips and tricks from them. Keep cortisol low and better sleep and hormones!
But yah. Boohiss on the caffeine one. that's like 2 cups a day. fuck.

Geeze, how strong is the coffee you drink? I thought a regular cup was like 90mg.

I definitely think there's something to keeping habitual caffeine intake in an optimal range though. Since I went completely off caffeine for a few months a while back, I've been making a point to limit myself to two cups a day, although I'll occasionally take a larger dose preworkout. Anecdotally I feel a little better, mood and sleep wise, and I feel as if the preworkout has more of an impact.

Semi related to this thread, I remembered this week that I had a big bag of beta alanine in the cupboard - I used to take it preworkout, but stopped ages ago. Got sent a blog article this week reminding me that it's a supplement that needs to be taken regularly to have any effect so I've been taking a scoop every morning with my creatine, figured I may as well use it up.

It's impossible to tell if it's doing anything for my training, but that paresthesia every morning does act as a bit of an extra stimulant to get me going!

sweet sat word.

I have about apot of coffee a day. plus maybe green tea. I also noticed that my shampoo has coffee in it.
beta a every day!