sports nutrition products

[bad_brain]

alrighty, let's pop the cherry of this board...

are you using special sports nutrition products? if yes which ones?
I am actually using a couple:
- gel packs with caffeine from Nutrixxion or PowerBar during sports
- l-carnitine tabs before sports
- PowerBar "Regeneration Drink" and "Energize" bar after sports (the latter ones are damn yummy, make even a great snack in general!)
- magnesium shots



what I have tried already was liquid l-carnitine, but I didn't noticed an effect at all, I still take the tabs though because I got 100 for 5 bucks, might stop taking them though when the box is empty.
I also tried Kre-Alkalyn CXT tabs, which is some pre-form of Creatine which is absorbed much better (and you don't have to fart from it like a buffalo, like with Creatine). I noticed an effect with those (you have to do 6-week taking/ 6-week pause cycles), but the effect was actually more of cosmetic nature, the muscles appeared bigger, but I felt no endurance benefit so I stopped taking them...might be something good for body building though.

[ayu]

I'm a bit simple on that part, I use like "nutrition replacement" I guess is what you could translate it to.
Basically it's powder that I put into my water when I train, to get extra vitamins.

This one

Code: Select all

http://tinyurl.com/lnkm954

[bad_brain]

ah, ok...yeah, that's pretty much a "basic" thingy, good when you simply have no time to cook yourself every day with fresh veggies and have to eat fast food often.
I made it a habit to visit the supermarket every 2-3 days since a few months, just to buy fruits, so I eat 1-5 apples and 1-4 bananas every day, sometimes additionally grapes, pears or peaches.

the extra nutrition I use is mostly to keep the muscles well supplied and to speed up muscle recovery, and to replace the minerals lost through sweating...I ride pretty much every day for 2-4 hours, so I need some extra supply.

the important thing is not to overdo it, neither with vitamins nor with such special sports nutrition....I have seen posts in a biking forum where weekend warriors complained about gaining weight since they got a bike, which is no surprise when you ride like a granny for 1 hour once a week but slurp a gel pack every 10 minutes with 150 calories each like a Tour de France pro...

[reparto]

I used to be on a university squad for Olympic taekwondo (still am but I dont train as frequently) and I trained with a lot of top level athletes. I actually asked around a lot about this stuff and the general consensus was that most of the products are either not worth using or are marketed in a bad way.

E.g. l carnitine is often marketed as a fat loss supplement even though there is no evidence for it. The theory is that l carnitine increases the sensitivity of your muscles to testosterone and so they grow more and increase metabolism and burn fat. Problem is that there is very little evidence supporting this. Also, existing uses of l carnitine include angina remedies and post heart attack medication so I don't know where this came from.

Personally, when I buy sports supplements I heavily research the ingredients to see whether there is any valid evidence for its inclusion.

I cant speak for powerbar but most energy bars are just oats grinded up and baked into bars. Technically speaking, a normal flapjack could be better.

Also, for endurance I would suggest beta alanine, its relatively cheap (small doses) and takes effect pretty quickly (1 to 2 weeks). Essentially what it does is act as an acid buffer against lactic acid, it can also give you a temporary itching sensation but it varies from person to person.

Stuff I buy:
Milk egg and whey protein powders
Beta alanine
Multivitamin

[bad_brain]

wow, nice man!

and yeah, before I used l-carnitine (as liquid) I gathered info about it, and most people said it's pointless, also ph0 (he's into body building) said so....and I really didn't notice any improvement. the reason why I got the tabs this time was because they were really cheap, and I got on a whole other training level in the meantime...so I thought I'll give it another try. but yeah...still pointless.

I have heard about beta alanine, I guess I'll give it a try, will check my usual online sports shop...

the bars I am using are made especially for after sports use, I just checked and the fibre content is just 1.1 grams in a 55 gram bar, it's mostly carbs and 3 sorts of proteines, plus magnesium and sodium...which makes sense for a recovery product.

the gel packs on the other hand are made for "during sports" use and contain mostly carbs, a little proteines, and a high dose of sodium. of course a simple banana would do pretty much the same, but it's very comfy to use during a ride and doesn't pull blood into the stomach because it's absorbed very easy. don't get me wrong, I am using those gel packs maybe once on a 3-4 hours ride (and not even every ride), they are simply good to get a little energy boost when your legs are about to lock up already and you have 10 km left until home.

[ayu]

I used to be on a university squad for Olympic taekwondo (still am but I dont train as frequently) and I trained with a lot of top level athletes. I actually asked around a lot about this stuff and the general consensus was that most of the products are either not worth using or are marketed in a bad way.

E.g. l carnitine is often marketed as a fat loss supplement even though there is no evidence for it. The theory is that l carnitine increases the sensitivity of your muscles to testosterone and so they grow more and increase metabolism and burn fat. Problem is that there is very little evidence supporting this. Also, existing uses of l carnitine include angina remedies and post heart attack medication so I don't know where this came from.

Personally, when I buy sports supplements I heavily research the ingredients to see whether there is any valid evidence for its inclusion.

I cant speak for powerbar but most energy bars are just oats grinded up and baked into bars. Technically speaking, a normal flapjack could be better.

Also, for endurance I would suggest beta alanine, its relatively cheap (small doses) and takes effect pretty quickly (1 to 2 weeks). Essentially what it does is act as an acid buffer against lactic acid, it can also give you a temporary itching sensation but it varies from person to person.

Stuff I buy:
Milk egg and whey protein powders
Beta alanine
Multivitamin

Nice man!

I've been considering taking up taekwondo, but since I've been doing Judo and JuJutsu for so many years now, it feels like it's "too late" to switch now ^^.
I always felt that what I'm doing is too soft, and that I need something harder, but JuJutsu is fine as long as you find a good partner to train with who can keep up.

[ph0bYx]

For now I only take fish oil to get extra out of my cardio (which I haven't done in some time and I'm feeling bad about it now). Thought about getting some whey protein but it's a bit too expensive for me now so I'm trying to get the most protein out of food. Been eating chicken like crazy and drinking milk instead of water.

[reparto]

wow, nice man!
the bars I am using are made especially for after sports use, I just checked and the fibre content is just 1.1 grams in a 55 gram bar, it's mostly carbs and 3 sorts of proteines, plus magnesium and sodium...which makes sense for a recovery product.

the gel packs on the other hand are made for "during sports" use and contain mostly carbs, a little proteines, and a high dose of sodium. of course a simple banana would do pretty much the same, but it's very comfy to use during a ride and doesn't pull blood into the stomach because it's absorbed very easy. don't get me wrong, I am using those gel packs maybe once on a 3-4 hours ride (and not even every ride), they are simply good to get a little energy boost when your legs are about to lock up already and you have 10 km left until home.

If you ever find the bars are too pricey just eat a balanced meal, it doesn't really matter how soon you eat after sports or what you eat (within reason) as long as you eat something. As far as I am aware you can't really go wrong with gel packs unless you are paying 1 bitcoin per gel pack, i suppose if you wanted a budget gel pack you could let a banana go soft and then you bite of the end suck up the banana goodness.

I always felt that what I'm doing is too soft, and that I need something harder

Try speaking with the instructor about it, when I moved to the uni study at (I was invited to train at a university when i was 16 but its not a great uni for any subject so i decided to move elsewhere to study) the taekwondo club wasn't very good and I decided not to go, retrospectively i probably should have stayed and tried to work with it but i was still in that reckless phase of being a teenager.

[bad_brain]

If you ever find the bars are too pricey just eat a balanced meal, it doesn't really matter how soon you eat after sports or what you eat (within reason) as long as you eat something. As far as I am aware you can't really go wrong with gel packs unless you are paying 1 bitcoin per gel pack, i suppose if you wanted a budget gel pack you could let a banana go soft and then you bite of the end suck up the banana goodness.

phew...easier said then done!
my eating schedule is pretty much non-existing, the only meal I have regularly is lunch about 1pm (which I pick up from the butcher shop across the street)...and lunch is breakfast at the same time for me, because I usually get up around 10:30 am and first need my liter of green tea before anything. at what time I eat during the rest of the day depends a lot on how much work I have, and my usual bedtime is around 3 in the morning...so I sometimes have "dinner" at 1 am. so I mostly grab an apple or a banana here and then as quick snack.