Help me take my supplements correctly!

February 12, 2008 6:51 PM

I'm new to workout supplements and need some advice on how/when to take Creatine, Protein, and H-blocker(carnosine).

So I've been working out fairly consistently for about 2 years now...I say fairly because it seems as soon as I make some headway I stop going and bounce right back to my pre-gym state - but I'm trying to have another go at it.

In Nov/Dec of 07 I seemed to have reached a point where my increased muscle mass had put my metabolism in a state where I was burning more calories to maintain my metabolism than I was taking in (a first for me :) ). At that time I was really only having one protein shake after working out (about 4-5x a week) and some creatine (about 3x less that what the manf recommended) before workouts maybe twice a week.

For whatever reason I stopped going to the gym for the month of January, and immediately put on 15lbs and lost some strength. So now I want to have another go at it.

I recently read about something called H-Blocker (carnosine synthesizers) ...to quote, "The newly formulated H-Blocker features a brand new class of agents (carnosine synthesizers) that are designed to drastically affect the muscular contraction, fullness, workload capacity, and growth of fast-twitch muscle fibers."

So now, my question to all you great MeFi folk, is how do I do this? I think both the creatine and the carnosine say to take them 30-45min before the workout - and I assume I'd still have my protein shake right after, but I'm a little bit worried about any interactions these three might have. Anyone have any advice??

thanks!!

posted by TheDude to health (7 comments total)

The forums at T-Nation would undoubtably have a more informed answer than you, or at least you'd get a wider range of opinions and other options. There are a large number of raw mass devotees there.

I can't answer your direct question. But I heard a lot of guys have had great success with a regular weight training program and drinking a gallon of milk a day. Pick something between 1% and whole chocolate milk, depending on how easy you gain mass and fat.
posted by schroedinger at 7:30 PM on February 12

I don't know anything about carnosine (and honestly, at two years in you shouldn't need anything besides lots of protein to get great gains) but taking protein and creatine at the same time won't cause any problems. I actually mix the two in my protein shakes.
posted by Loto at 8:30 PM on February 12

Forget the H-blocker.

Consume a Hydrolyzed Whey or Whey Isolate shake with a carb drink and creatine post workout.

Eat 6-8 meals throughout the day.

Taper your meals ... Heavy Heavy breakfast. Very light dinner.

Protein with every meal/

Include carbs with your protein in the AM. Include healthy fats with your protein after 4 PM.

Perform moderate pace cardio first thing in the morning before breakfast.

Eat as many solid meals as possible. Don't rely too much on shakes and mrps. A shake after your workout and a casein shake before bed are good. Let the other meals consist of lean protein sources - eggs, chicken, beef, turkey, tuna.

Eat a lot of green veggies. Consume fruit / berries in the AM.

...

i could go on... for any more questions feel free to message me.
posted by iceman7 at 2:52 AM on February 13

honestly, at two years in you shouldn't need anything besides lots of protein to get great gains

I'll second this, I went into my local GNC last night just to buy powdered protein and I got the usual 'Man, do you wanna get bigger?' and then offered all the crap under the sun. Frankly the thing that's going to make you stronger or bigger depending on your goal is lifting and a balanced diet with protein and good carbs. Personally I'm of the opinion that if you're not seeing improvements then you're not working out hard enough, or that there's a problem with your workout. For example, I can't believe the amount of guys I see in the gym that never, ever do lower body exercises. Making sure that you workout properly will do so much more than faddy supplements. IMHO, of course.
posted by ob at 7:46 AM on February 13

I'd never heard of H+Blocker before so I looked it up. The ingredients of H+Blocker from a Google Search:

Beta-alanine, Citrulinne Malate, Aspartic acid, L-histidine, Magnesium, Natural caffeine, chloride, Zinc monomethionine, Zinc aspartate and Vit B6

Beta-alanine is the product's selling point. It's the rate-limiting precursor of canosine, an amino acid that acts as a buffer in skeletal muscle, reducing muscular acidosis. There's a couple of papers in Pubmed arguing that supplementation is helpful (PMID: 17690198 and PMID: 16868650). The first study's results aren't very impressive, and the second study's sample size was pretty darn small (and published in a niche journal). I'd save your money until more research is done. The caffeine and the placebo effect are likely more responsible for the raving reviews some bodybuilders seem to be giving the stuff.

Creatine and protein supplementation have much more supporting research and are, in my opinion, useful for trained athletes. Are you taking your creatine with any sort of sugar? An insulin spike will help its absorption. Take it with some fruit juice.
posted by Thoughtcrime at 9:30 AM on February 13

Creatine and protein supplementation have much more supporting research and are, in my opinion, useful for trained athletes. Are you taking your creatine with any sort of sugar? An insulin spike will help its absorption. Take it with some fruit juice.

I second this, and do that immediatley after the workout. If you have a decent training program, your diet is going to be the biggest factor. One minor thing you could do is start taking in two protein shakes a day and see how that works out. I would also suggest T-Nation.
posted by P.o.B. at 1:49 PM on February 13

At the 2 years mark, you might want to evaluate whether you are still a 'novice' or are moving into the 'intermediate' realm. This will have ramifications for your programming, which will be more important than your supplements in terms of strength gains at this point. Check out Practical Programming by Mark Rippetoe.
posted by tiburon at 7:50 AM on February 14