The Science Of Supplements! Without question, supplements can be confusing. Yet they are one of the keys to lifting success.That is true whether you’re natty or chemically enhanced. So which ones are worth it? I’m glad you asked! In this guide, I will review the science behind several of the most popular supplements currently on the market. Ready? Then let’s dive right in!
Protein Powder
Whey Protein
Whey protein is generally accepted as the highest quality protein source on the market. It is actually a by-product of cheese which comes from cow’s milk. Whey is the liquid part that is separated from the curd. Other than protein, whey contains fat, cholesterol, and lactose. Before it is used in protein powder, much of the fat and lactose (milk sugar) have to be filtered out.
Whey supplements come in three main versions:
Whey Concentrate
This version can have a protein content that ranges anywhere from 34% to 80% protein by weight. Concentrate will have the most sugar and fat. Even so, look for a concentrate with a protein content of 80%.
Whey Isolate
Isolate has a protein content of 90% with little to no sugar or fat. Whey is also a fast digesting protein. This makes it an ideal choice for use first thing in the morning as well as immediately after your workout.
Whey Hydrolysate
This version can be either whey concentrate or whey isolate. It is broken down into very small particles for superior absorption.
Casein
Casein is another type of protein from cow’s milk. It makes up 80% of the total protein available from milk, with whey making up the other 20%. Unlike whey, casein is a slow digesting protein. This makes it ideal any time of the day when you may have to go a long time without a meal or shake. It also makes sense to ingest casein before bed. Some studies suggest that after a workout, a combination of whey and casein may be the best option. (1, 2, 3)
What About Plant Protein?
Are you vegan and prefer to use plant protein? I suggest a pea and brown rice blend. This ensures you have a complete protein with a good amino acid profile.
Why Is Protein Important?
Protein is a major body component. It is used by the body every day to perform hundreds (if not thousands) of necessary functions. That means that muscle growth is not at the top of the body’s priority list. The answer here is to increase your protein intake so that the body has protein available for muscle growth. Muscle catabolism happens when the body does not have enough protein. In this situation, it will take what it needs from muscle tissue. This is why protein and the timing of that protein is so important. That’s also why a higher intake is important, higher demands means a higher intake. (4, 5)
The Age Old Question: How Much Protein Do You Need?
So, what is the recommended daily protein intake for lifters? Currently, most experts agree that 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day, divided up over 4-6 meals, is ideal. Some lifters go higher than that: 1.5 grams per pound. It goes without saying that protein powder supplements can help you reach your daily goal. (6)
Caffeine
Without a doubt, caffeine is easily the most popular stimulant on the planet. It’s a central nervous system stimulant that comes from the coffea plant, located primarily in Africa and Asia. Caffeine increases energy, enhances focus, improves performance, stimulates thermogenesis, and helps decrease fatigue. (7, 8, 9)
Dosing Guidelines
Generally speaking, consuming up to 400 mg of caffeine per day is considered safe. For lifters, there are some general guidelines: caffeine intake should range from 3-9 mg per kg of body weight. (10)
The higher level of that range is in the neighborhood of 700+ mg of caffeine – a little high! Therefore, I suggest a dose in the 4-6 mg/kg range per day.
Tolerance to caffeine tends to build up fairly quickly. At this point, a “more is better” approach is not the best option. For this reason, you can try cycling caffeine as follows: 1 week off every 8 weeks.
Different Types Of Caffeine
Caffeine Anhydrous – This type has all the moisture removed. That makes it highly concentrated.
Caffeine Citrate – This type consists of caffeine anhydrous and citric acid monohydrate. It’s 50% caffeine.
Green Tea – This is a mild source of caffeine. A single 8oz cup of brewed green tea contains about 25 mg of caffeine.
Guarana – This is a popular plant originating in South America. It contains 22% caffeine.
Infinergy™ Dicaffeine Malate – Infinergy is a trademarked complex that consists of 75% caffeine and 25% malic acid. The caffeine absorbs slower than regular caffeine. This reduces the jitters and the “crash” effect.
InnovaTea® Natural Caffeine – This version is a very pure tea grown by farmers who use sustainable farming practices. It’s 98% caffeine.
Yerba Mate – Here’s another herb from South America. The tea form of yerba mate is one of the more popular caffeinated drinks in the world.
Many pre-workout supplements (see next section) and energy products use caffeine complexes. This typically means that they will stack a slow release caffeine with a fast release from.
Pre-Workout
Picking up on the information about caffeine, most lifters will get their caffeine intake from pre-workout supplements (and coffee, of course!) I want to make it clear that a good pre-workout is much, much more than merely caffeinated energy (some are 100% stim-free). Don’t fall for these misinformed “experts” that claim coffee (or some other form of caffeine) is all you need for a great workout.
Put simply, it’s not. The most effective pre-workout supplements give you energy, sure. But they also give you elevated focus, increased motivation, greater endurance, massive pumps, and improved overall performance. The bottom line here is simple – I won’t train without one. (11)
Citrulline
L-Citrulline is one of the most effective pump ingredients on the market. Once it gets in the body, citrulline works by converting into arginine. This in turn stimulates the production of nitric oxide. This increases blood flow to the working muscles, which of course leads to huge pumps. It also speeds transport of nutrients and oxygen to the muscles. The big thing about citrulline is that it absorbs and does a better job than arginine does. Currently, the best pre-workouts and pump boosters provide 8-11 grams of citrulline per serving. (12, 13)
Glycerol
Glycerol is a sugar alcohol and a byproduct of glucose and fatty acid metabolism. It has a major role in the process of gluconeogenesis. That’s when your liver synthesizes glucose from non-sugar substrates such as protein. Supplemental glycerol comes primarily from vegetable oil. Either way, it’s an osmolyte that increases the total water volume in the body (including, of course, the muscles).
Now, if you consume glycerol with lots of water, your body retains that fluid. This will lead to massive water-based pumps (cell volume). In fact, many lifters, myself included, feel the pumps are absolutely mind-numbing! Plus, this effect hyper-hydrates the body. Finally, another very impressive glycerol benefit is that it will dramatically increase your training endurance. (14, 15, 16)
Multi Vitamin/Mineral Supplements
The age-old idea of being able to get enough of every nutrient you need every day is outdated. Stop and think about it. How many of us really eat 3-6 well-balanced meals every day? Let’s say you are lucky enough to say yes to that question. Do you track the amount of every nutrient in every single thing you eat every single day? No? Then you won’t know if you’re getting enough of every nutrient, right?
The Reality
OK, so let’s get real – many of us are unable to do that because of hectic lifestyles. Some of us scramble to eat at all, let alone eat multiple well-planned, whole food meals. College, work, and so on leave us little to no time to eat when a lifter needs to. That means you most likely are experiencing deficiencies in one or more key nutrients. That’s serious, it is important to understand that micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) are required if you want optimal health. (17, 18)
Natural Health Insurance!
This is, for me, a solid reason to use a well-balanced multi vitamin/mineral formula. Let me be clear. If you can get all the nutrients you need every day from your whole food meals, that’s great. Keep it going. If you can’t, more than likely you are lacking in at least some key nutrients. Therefore, I advise taking a quality multivitamin daily with a meal.
Creatine
Creatine is produced naturally by the body, as well as found in such foods as meat. As a supplement creatine, especially in monohydrate form, is the most well researched supplement in history. There are hundreds of studies supporting its use, and they all agree – creatine is effective. (19)
What Does Creatine Do?
So, in the context of lifting, what does creatine monohydrate do? It increases endurance and strength by stimulating more ATP production. For those that don’t know, ATP is the energy currency of the cell. In fact, in the body the main role of creatine is to recycle ATP, primarily in muscle tissue. In addition, it also pulls water into the muscles, causing a water-based pump (cell volume) effect. Yet it does not cause overall excess water retention. As a side note, creatine monohydrate is the original cell volumizer, and literally created a whole new supplement category.
Dosing Instructions
There’s a number of different creatine supplements using different forms of creatine. Yet the most effective form of creatine is still creatine monohydrate. It should be dosed at 5 grams per day, with or without a loading phase. What is a loading phase, you might ask? Simple – take 4-5 doses of 5 grams a day for 5-7 days. This saturates the muscles with creatine quickly. Thereafter, take a single 5-gram dose per say. It does not need to be cycled.
Creatine is inexpensive, harmless, and, for most people, very effective! While there are some non-responders, I see it as a cornerstone supplement. If you’re a serious lifter, it should be in your stack!
The Case For Full Label Transparency
Many supplements use “prop blends” on their labels. A prop, or proprietary, blend is a combination of ingredients that are listed in order of weight. There is a single, total dose that is for the entire blend. You won’t find any individual dosages listed. At first glance, especially for lifters new to supplements, a prop blend might not seem like a bad thing.
The Problem With Prop Blends
So what’s the problem? Most prop blends are under dosed. It’s easy to do this because no one has any idea how much of any ingredient they are getting. For example, if the prop blend has 5 ingredients and it’s dosed at 2 grams (I have seen labels like this), there’s a very good chance it’s dramatically under dosed, especially if the standard dose of any one of those 5 ingredients is higher than the 2 grams! Yes, I have seen this!
Full Disclosure Labeling
Currently, most supplement companies are using full disclosure labeling. This means that the dose of each ingredient is clearly listed on the label. And most of these companies are using effective doses. When you look at a product, make sure the label is fully disclosed, and check the dosing (you can find recommended doses for virtually any ingredient online).
Summary
In summary, if you want results, the supplements presented here are some of your best choices. Remember, supplements that attracts your attention should be considered using the criteria used here – clinical studies, clinical dosing, and fully disclosed labels. Don’t be fooled by hype – look past the hype to the product label itself and judge it on its own. If you do that, you’ll make consistently sound supplement choices that will ultimately help you reach your goals. Of course, illpumpyouup.com has exceptional supplement choices – stop by and see for yourself!
References:
-
Aragon, A. A., & Schoenfeld, B. J. (2013, January 29). Nutrient timing revisited: Is there a post-exercise anabolic window? Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23360586
-
Wilborn, C. D., Taylor, L. W., Outlaw, J., Williams, L., Campbell, B., Foster, C. A., Hayward, S. (2013, March). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3761774/
-
Kanda, A., Nakayama, K., Sanbongi, C., Nagata, M., Ikegami, S., & Itoh, H. (2016, June 03). Effects of Whey, Caseinate, or Milk Protein Ingestion on Muscle Protein Synthesis after Exercise. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27271661
-
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Organic/protein.html
-
P. 111-112, Nutrition & Diet Therapy, 10th Edition, Ruth A. Roth, MS, RD
-
https://www.leanbodiesconsulting.com/articles/the-protein-interview-an-interview-with-dr-stuart-phillips/
-
Cook, C., Beaven, C. M., Kilduff, L. P., & Drawer, S. (2012, June). Acute caffeine ingestion’s increase of voluntarily chosen resistance-training load after limited sleep. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22349085
-
Duncan, M. J., Stanley, M., Parkhouse, N., Cook, K., & Smith, M. (n.d.). Acute caffeine ingestion enhances strength performance and reduces perceived exertion and muscle pain perception during resistance exercise. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23834545
-
Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=caffeine and calories burned
-
Pickering, C., & Kiely, J. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5752738/
-
Figueroa, A., Wong, A., Jaime, S. J., & Gonzales, J. U. (2017, January). Influence of L-citrulline and watermelon supplementation on vascular function and exercise performance. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27749691
-
https://examine.com/supplements/citrulline/
-
National Center for Biotechnology Information (2023). PubChem Compound Summary for CID 753, Glycerol. Retrieved February 13, 2023 from https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Glycerol.
-
Results for ‘glycerol’ – Examine
-
Patlar, S., Yalçin, H., & Boyali, E. (2012). The effect of glycerol supplements on aerobic and anaerobic performance of athletes and sedentary subjects. Journal of human kinetics, 34, 69–79. https://doi.org/10.2478/v10078-012-0065-x
-
Kleiner, S. M., Bazzarre, T. L., & Ainsworth, B. E. (1994, March). Nutritional status of nationally ranked elite bodybuilders. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8167655
-
Misner, B. (2006). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2129155
-
https://examine.com/supplements/creatine/