Knowing the whens of supplementation is as important as knowing the whats. Get your money's worth by taking your supplements at exactly the right time.
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by Jim Stoppanni, Ph.D.Feb 27, 2012
No doubt about it, supplements are a critical component to achieving your physique and performance goals. And, for most of you, that means gaining more strength and endurance while building lean muscle and shedding as much fat as possible. But even if you know the right supplements to take, if you don't take them at the right times, their benefits will be limited.
As they say, "Timing is everything," and that maxim doesn't ring any truer than for supplements. In fact, research confirms that those taking whey and creatine around workouts achieve significantly greater results than those taking them at other times. This is merely one example of the science-backed truth behind supplement timing. To help you get the most bang for your buck, let us walk you through the perfect day of supplementation, from wake-up call to bedtime.
Wake Up
Immediately Upon Waking
WHAT HOW MUCH
Whey Protein ——————→ 20g
BCAAs —————————→ 5g
Caffeine —————————→ 200mg
When you wake up, your body has essentially been fasting for the past 6-9 hours and has begun turning to your muscles for fuel, so you obviously want to stop this process ASAP. Eating eggs or other whole-food proteins, like chicken or dairy, will take far too long to digest and stop the attack on your muscles. The only thing that will work is a whey protein shake, as whey is the fastest digesting form of protein, and in less than 20 minutes, its amino acids will start to reach your muscles. Adding some extra branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) to the shake will further help stop catabolism (muscle breakdown) and turn on muscle protein synthesis.
TIMING TIP
If you work out in the morning, this will be your pre-workout supplement plan, in addition to
any other pre-workout
supps you take.
Also, consider eating a piece of fruit with your protein shake. When you fast all night, your liver uses up its stores of glycogen (the storage form of glucose), which signals the body to use amino acids from your muscles for fuel. The small amount of glucose also doesn't cause a huge blood glucose spike just enough to raise insulin a bit, which also helps to signal the body to stop breaking down muscle.
If you like to start your day with a cup of coffee to give you a kick-start, consider taking a caffeine pill instead. A recent study found that caffeinated coffee kept levels of the muscle-wasting hormone cortisol high in the morning. Even research subjects drinking decaf had slightly higher levels of cortisol than those drinking water, which is likely due to other chemicals present in coffee. A caffeine pill will give you just what you need: a jolt to wake you up and increase fat burning without affecting cortisol as much.
Breakfast
30 To 60 Minutes After Waking
WHAT HOW MUCH
Multivitamin ——————→ 1 dose
B complex 100 —————→ 1 dose
Vitamin C ———————→ 1,000mg
Vitamin D ———————→ 1,000-3,000 IU
Vitamin E ———————→ 400-800 IU
Calcium ————————→ 500-600mg
Fish Oil ————————→ 2-3g
After your protein shake and a piece of fruit, you can do your usual morning ritual (take a shower, get dressed, do your hair and makeup, etc.). About 30-60 minutes after the shake, it's time to eat again, only this time you want whole foods like eggs and oatmeal. This is also a good time to get in a good dose of some other critical micronutrients that are better absorbed when taken with food. First on the list is your multivitamin and mineral complex. Of course, a hard-training woman needs more of certain vitamins and minerals than most typical multis provide, so add a B vitamin complex; vitamins C, D, and E; along with calcium. You'll also need fish oil, which has a laundry list of benefits, including enhancing heart, brain, and joint health; as well as improving muscle recovery and helping to promote fat loss.
Midmorning
60 To 90 Minutes After Breakfast
WHAT HOW MUCH
Green Tea Extract ————→ 500-1,000mg
(standardized for at least 30% EGCG)
Between breakfast and lunch-perhaps with a snack you have during this window-take a dose of green tea extract. Green tea, like fish oil, is nothing short of a wonder supplement. It contains polyphenols, notably EGCG, which not only increases fat burning but aids joint and muscle recovery as well. Drinking green tea, however, won't produce maximum effect. Research shows that the polyphenols from green tea beverages aren't absorbed as readily as those from green tea extract supplements.
Lunch
With Lunch
WHAT HOW MUCH
Fish Oil ————————→ 2-3g
Most of us eat lunch at work. And it's tough following a supplement plan when you never know whether lunch is going to be at your favorite local restaurant, during a meeting, or at your desk. Do yourself one favor and store a bottle of fish oil in your desk to take around lunchtime. Taking fish oil within 30 minutes before or after eating is just as good as taking it with a meal.
Pre-Workout No. 1
60 Minutes Before Exercise
FUN FACT
Current research suggests that the combination of caffeine and green tea burned more fat than either supplement alone.
WHAT HOW MUCH
Caffeine ————————→ 200-400mg
Green Tea Extract ————→ 500-1,000mg
(standardized for at least 30% EGCG)
Pre-Workout/NO Booster → 1 dose
If you want to maximize your endurance, strength, and fat burning during your workout (why wouldn't you?), your best bet is to take pre-workout supplements within an hour before training. This is a great time to get in a dose of caffeine to give you the boost you need for an intense workout. A dose of green tea will further enhance fat burning and endurance, as well as aid muscle recovery after the workout.
If you're really serious about training intensity, consider taking a pre-workout nitric oxide (NO) supplement. Boosting NO levels has been shown in clinical studies to increase endurance and strength during workouts as well as aid muscle growth and fat loss. Many NO-boosting products provide caffeine as well, killing two birds with one stone.
Pre-Workout No. 2
15 To 30 Minutes Before Exercise
WHAT HOW MUCH
Whey Protein ——————→ 20g
BCAAs —————————→ 5g
Creatine ————————→ 2-5g
Beta-Alanine ——————→ 2-3g
As the workout gets closer, within 15-30 minutes, think about fueling your body. Although most people think of carbs when they hear the term fuel, your first line of thought should actually be whey protein. Your muscles use amino acids for fuel during intense workouts, and if you don't provide your body with a quick source of aminos (whey), it will take them from your muscles. Pre-workout whey will also be there to help with muscle recovery and growth during the workout. Confused about how muscles start recovering during workouts? Well, you typically train more than one muscle group each workout-for example, chest, triceps, and abs. When you're training triceps, your chest is already in recovery mode, and you don't want to wait until the end of the workout to give it aminos. You'll also want to add BCAAs to this shake. These amino acids are the most critical when it comes to fueling your muscles during workouts. They also trick your brain into blunting fatigue so that you can stay stronger for longer. Then there's creatine, which is not for men only; it is another critical source of fuel for your working muscles. Finally, if you want to further boost energy, endurance, and strength, as well as aid muscle growth and fat loss, add beta-alanine to the mix. This amino acid is gaining the kind of respect that creatine has garnered in the supplement world.
Post-Workout
Within 45 Minutes Of Exercise
WHAT HOW MUCH
Whey Protein ——————→ 20g
Casein Protein —————→ 10-20g
BCAAs —————————→ 5g
Creatine ————————→ 2-5g
Beta-Alanine ——————→ 2-3g
Fast Carbs ———————→ 30-60g
After workouts, you have a 45-minute window, at the most, to refuel your muscles. Miss the window and you just blew your opportunity to maximize muscle recovery. The nutrients here need to work very quickly, so drinking a whey protein shake is your best bet. You also need more BCAAs to ensure that muscle protein synthesis is maximized, as well as more creatine and beta-alanine to restock your muscles for the next workout.
After workouts, you should also add some casein protein to your protein shake. This very-slow-digesting protein keeps protein synthesis going for many hours after the workout to enhance recovery and results.
TIMING TIP
If you're fearful that late-night carbs will be converted to body fat,
limit fast carbs
post-workout to 20-30g.
During the workout, you burned up a good deal of your muscle glycogen, so you also need to get carbs to your muscles in a hurry. Anything with fructose won't get to your muscles fast enough, so try to avoid foods like fruit or table sugar (sucrose). If you want to go the supplement route for carbs, good choices are dextrose powder (which is essentially glucose) or Vitargo, a branched chain of glucose molecules that has been found to reach muscles faster than sugar. If you prefer to have some fun after workouts and treat yourself, take a look at Wonka candies. The Pixy Stix and Bottle Caps use dextrose as the main sugar; few other candy companies make fructose-free candy. Other good carb options are white bread and white potatoes, which are pure starch
(glucose chains).
Dinner
With Dinner
WHAT HOW MUCH
Vitamin C ———————→ 1,000mg
Calcium ————————→ 500-600mg
Vitamin D ———————→ 1,000-3,000 IU
Whether you compete in sports or not, a woman who trains as hard as you do, for all intents and purposes, is an athlete. Research shows that athletes lose a lot of micronutrients through training, so make sure to get in another dose of the more critical ones-vitamin C, calcium, vitamin D-with dinner.
Bedtime
30 Minutes Before Going To Bed
WHAT HOW MUCH
Casein Protein —————→ 20g
Fish Oil ————————→ 2-3g
We already discussed what happens in your body while you sleep. The good news is, you can help to prevent the muscle breakdown that normally occurs with the help of the slow-digesting protein casein. Just be sure the casein you choose lists micellar casein first on the ingredients list. This is the slowest digesting protein you can get; it takes a good 7-8 hours, providing your body a slow and steady stream of amino acids all night long. Your body will use these amino acids for fuel instead of breaking down the aminos from your muscle fibers. Also, get in one final dose of fish oil at this time. Fat will help to further slow down digestion rate, and the omega-3s will provide a host of other health benefits.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
JUMP SQUATS
Those of you who have been members of JimStoppani.com for some time now know that I recommend using explosive exercises, such as jump squats to help you build more power in your legs, which can not only increase their strength, but also help to increase muscle size.
You may also know that I typically recommend that you do these explosive exercises first in your workout.
That’s because to maximize power development you want to perform these explosive moves when the fast-twitch muscle fibers are not fatigued and they are at their strongest. If you do explosive exercises, such as jump squats, after fatiguing the target muscles with another exercise, let's say regular squats, then the fast-twitch muscle fibers will not be able to contract with the same amount of power and you not only will jump lower, but your ability to build power will be compromised.
However, a new study shows that there may still be some benefit to doing jump squats after regular squats.
New Zealand researchers had trained male athletes perform four different workouts that consisted of jump squats and heavy squats using their 3-rep max weight. In one workout they did 3 sets of 3 jump squats followed by 3 sets of heavy squats. In another workout they first did the 3 sets of heavy squats followed by the 3 sets of jump squats. For other two workouts they did either 6 sets of heavy squats without any jump squats, or 6 sets of jump squats without any heavy squats.
They discovered that when the athletes did the heavy squats first followed by the jump squats, their testosterone levels increased by about 5% more than when they did the jump squats first followed by the heavy squats. And doing both jump squats and heavy squats in any order increased testosterone levels more than when doing just heavy squats alone or just jump squats alone.
Jim's take-home point:
Doing both heavy weight for low reps and light weight for explosive reps in the same workout, regardless of the order is a technique called Complex Training. Research shows that this combination produces the best gains in muscle strength and power, and may also produce gains in muscle size. This is the main reason why I often recommend using complex training by starting your leg workouts with jump squats or chest workouts with power push-ups.
One of the keys to why complex training works may be because it appears to boost testosterone levels the highest, regardless of the order you do the exercises in. I typically prefer doing the explosive exercise first to take advantage of muscle power and as a way to warm-up the muscle before the heavier sets. However, this study suggests that you might be able to get a slightly higher boost in testotserone by doing the explosive move after the heavy exercise. So on leg days, you may want to occasionally swap the order and do squats followed by a few sets of jump
You may also know that I typically recommend that you do these explosive exercises first in your workout.
That’s because to maximize power development you want to perform these explosive moves when the fast-twitch muscle fibers are not fatigued and they are at their strongest. If you do explosive exercises, such as jump squats, after fatiguing the target muscles with another exercise, let's say regular squats, then the fast-twitch muscle fibers will not be able to contract with the same amount of power and you not only will jump lower, but your ability to build power will be compromised.
However, a new study shows that there may still be some benefit to doing jump squats after regular squats.
New Zealand researchers had trained male athletes perform four different workouts that consisted of jump squats and heavy squats using their 3-rep max weight. In one workout they did 3 sets of 3 jump squats followed by 3 sets of heavy squats. In another workout they first did the 3 sets of heavy squats followed by the 3 sets of jump squats. For other two workouts they did either 6 sets of heavy squats without any jump squats, or 6 sets of jump squats without any heavy squats.
They discovered that when the athletes did the heavy squats first followed by the jump squats, their testosterone levels increased by about 5% more than when they did the jump squats first followed by the heavy squats. And doing both jump squats and heavy squats in any order increased testosterone levels more than when doing just heavy squats alone or just jump squats alone.
Jim's take-home point:
Doing both heavy weight for low reps and light weight for explosive reps in the same workout, regardless of the order is a technique called Complex Training. Research shows that this combination produces the best gains in muscle strength and power, and may also produce gains in muscle size. This is the main reason why I often recommend using complex training by starting your leg workouts with jump squats or chest workouts with power push-ups.
One of the keys to why complex training works may be because it appears to boost testosterone levels the highest, regardless of the order you do the exercises in. I typically prefer doing the explosive exercise first to take advantage of muscle power and as a way to warm-up the muscle before the heavier sets. However, this study suggests that you might be able to get a slightly higher boost in testotserone by doing the explosive move after the heavy exercise. So on leg days, you may want to occasionally swap the order and do squats followed by a few sets of jump
Friday, February 24, 2012
OMEGA 3
The two questions that I get asked the most about fish oil supplements are:
1) “Aren’t most fish oil supplements contaminated with mercury?”
And:
2) “What is the best brand of fish oil supplements”
To answer question #1 - No, most fish oil supplements are absolutely NOT contaminated with mercury or other toxins.
In fact, a recent test by ConsumerLab.com of about 40 different fish oil and other omega-3 fat products reported that only one product, which was an omega-3 supplement for pets, was contaminated with high amounts of PCBs. But none of the omega-3 products for humans were contaminated with mercury, PCBs (polycholorinated biphenyls), or dioxins.
To answer question #2 - Most brands of fish oil are perfectly fine.
There are only a few that you should stay away from according to the testing done by ConsumerLab.com. So to be sure that you select from only the good brands, I've provided you the list of brands that passed the ConsumerLab.com test and the short list of those that failed. They tested the omega-3 products for: 1) amount of omega-3 fat (EPA and DHA) in the actual product as compared to the amount that was listed on the label, 2) purity – to make sure that there was no contamination from mercury, PCBs, and dioxins, and 3) freshness – to make sure that there was no spoilage of the fat supplement.
1) “Aren’t most fish oil supplements contaminated with mercury?”
And:
2) “What is the best brand of fish oil supplements”
To answer question #1 - No, most fish oil supplements are absolutely NOT contaminated with mercury or other toxins.
In fact, a recent test by ConsumerLab.com of about 40 different fish oil and other omega-3 fat products reported that only one product, which was an omega-3 supplement for pets, was contaminated with high amounts of PCBs. But none of the omega-3 products for humans were contaminated with mercury, PCBs (polycholorinated biphenyls), or dioxins.
To answer question #2 - Most brands of fish oil are perfectly fine.
There are only a few that you should stay away from according to the testing done by ConsumerLab.com. So to be sure that you select from only the good brands, I've provided you the list of brands that passed the ConsumerLab.com test and the short list of those that failed. They tested the omega-3 products for: 1) amount of omega-3 fat (EPA and DHA) in the actual product as compared to the amount that was listed on the label, 2) purity – to make sure that there was no contamination from mercury, PCBs, and dioxins, and 3) freshness – to make sure that there was no spoilage of the fat supplement.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
SHAVING BEFORE A MEET
A Maryland girls swimming team has had its county championship title retroactively stripped for one of the more bizarre retroactive punishments to come down in recent years: It was deemed that improper shaving had occurred.
Broadneck swimmer Lauren Fogarty swims at Anne Arundel County Championships — Annapolis Capital
That's right, improper shaving. Not shaving points mind you, but shaving of body hair. And, as it turns out, if the unnamed player implicated had only shaved a couple hours earlier, she and her teammates would still have their county title.
As reported by a number of Maryland news outlets, the Baltimore Sun and Annapolis Capital among them, the Broadneck (Md.) High girls swimming squad lost its Anne Arundel County title after it was determined that one of the team's swimmers shaved on-site just before the start of the event. National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) rules for swimming, diving and water polo stipulate that athletes can not shave before, during or after a meet once a team is on-site.
The reason why the NFHS institutes a no shaving on-site policy is to protect the swimmers themselves from possible blood transmission or, in general, doing full body shaves in high school locker rooms, which would maximize the possibility of unsafe practices like sharing razors. Still, the rule can seem quite a bit over the top when one considers generally acceptable practices for other sports; after all, no one is telling football or basketball players that they can't shave after a game or practice.
Because of the violation, Broadneck lost all points won by the swimmer implicated, dropping the Bruins from first to third place in the final standings. Severna Park (Md.) High was later declared the county champion after Broadneck's lost points were redistributed.
Meanwhile, the Annapolis Capital reported that Broadneck swimming coach Colleen Winans was suspended for the Class 4A-3A Regional Championships which were held on Saturday because of her swimmer's violation. A release from the Anne Arundel School District cited the failure of Winans' squad to abide by "the rules of the game and promote ethical relationships among coaches and players," as the reason for the discipline taken against Winans, which included the one-meet ban.
The Broadneck boys and girls varsity swimming teams — BroadneckAthletics.org
As Swimming World Magazine general manager Jason Marsteller noted in an email with Prep Rally, it's the retroactive aspect of Broadneck's punishment that may be most bizarre.
"I'm not sure I've seen much of this type of punishment within the sport," Marsteller wrote in an email. "About the only place retroactive punishments happen is in the case of positive doping tests."
Certainly doping tests and shaving seem a world apart, even if both might provide competitive advantages (doping for obvious reasons, and shaving to reduce drag for competitive swimmers).
Despite Winans absence, Broadneck returned to the top of the area standings, emerging with both a boys and girls regional title. The Bruins cruised past runners-up Severna Park by 16.5 points, with a number of Broadneck swimmers citing their coach's unfortunate and bizarre suspension as motivation to win their respective events.
Broadneck swimmer Lauren Fogarty swims at Anne Arundel County Championships — Annapolis Capital
That's right, improper shaving. Not shaving points mind you, but shaving of body hair. And, as it turns out, if the unnamed player implicated had only shaved a couple hours earlier, she and her teammates would still have their county title.
As reported by a number of Maryland news outlets, the Baltimore Sun and Annapolis Capital among them, the Broadneck (Md.) High girls swimming squad lost its Anne Arundel County title after it was determined that one of the team's swimmers shaved on-site just before the start of the event. National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) rules for swimming, diving and water polo stipulate that athletes can not shave before, during or after a meet once a team is on-site.
The reason why the NFHS institutes a no shaving on-site policy is to protect the swimmers themselves from possible blood transmission or, in general, doing full body shaves in high school locker rooms, which would maximize the possibility of unsafe practices like sharing razors. Still, the rule can seem quite a bit over the top when one considers generally acceptable practices for other sports; after all, no one is telling football or basketball players that they can't shave after a game or practice.
Because of the violation, Broadneck lost all points won by the swimmer implicated, dropping the Bruins from first to third place in the final standings. Severna Park (Md.) High was later declared the county champion after Broadneck's lost points were redistributed.
Meanwhile, the Annapolis Capital reported that Broadneck swimming coach Colleen Winans was suspended for the Class 4A-3A Regional Championships which were held on Saturday because of her swimmer's violation. A release from the Anne Arundel School District cited the failure of Winans' squad to abide by "the rules of the game and promote ethical relationships among coaches and players," as the reason for the discipline taken against Winans, which included the one-meet ban.
The Broadneck boys and girls varsity swimming teams — BroadneckAthletics.org
As Swimming World Magazine general manager Jason Marsteller noted in an email with Prep Rally, it's the retroactive aspect of Broadneck's punishment that may be most bizarre.
"I'm not sure I've seen much of this type of punishment within the sport," Marsteller wrote in an email. "About the only place retroactive punishments happen is in the case of positive doping tests."
Certainly doping tests and shaving seem a world apart, even if both might provide competitive advantages (doping for obvious reasons, and shaving to reduce drag for competitive swimmers).
Despite Winans absence, Broadneck returned to the top of the area standings, emerging with both a boys and girls regional title. The Bruins cruised past runners-up Severna Park by 16.5 points, with a number of Broadneck swimmers citing their coach's unfortunate and bizarre suspension as motivation to win their respective events.
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