I would rather spend my money on things other than supplements, especially in the sports nutrition realm since many are of dubious value, but there are a few that are worthwhile. Earlier in the year, I wrote about creatine + beta-alanine and my use of it.

I haven’t been using it for a while, but Ryan at Sports Nutrition Superstore convinced me to take another look at it on the basis of quality research. Read the rest of this entry

The latest buzz words in sports nutrition is “nutrient timing”. I used to think the key to body recomposition was simply making sure the calories going in the “pie hole” did not exceed what was expended by exercise. That didn’t really work for me and a number of other strategies failed as well.

Nutrient timing comes down to what and when you eat in relation to your training. I have previously written of my experiences with the Warrior Diet, written by Ori Hofmekler. A number of years ago, Ori personally taught me the principles of what to eat, when and why it works. I again would strongly recommend reading Ori’s work on the topic. My results were striking.

Additionally, I have read an abstract from the International Society of Sports Nutrition. Take a look; the bold was added by me for emphasis:

International society of sports nutrition position stand: nutrient
timing.
J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2008 Oct 3;5(1):17. [Epub ahead of print] Links

Kerksick C, Stout J, Campbell B, Wilborn C, Kreider R, Kalman D,
Ziegenfuss T, Lopez H, Landis J, Ivy J, Antonio J.

ABSTRACT: Position Statement: The position of the Society regarding
nutrient timing and the intake of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats
in reference to healthy, exercising individuals is summarized by the
following eight points:

1.) Maximal endogenous glycogen stores are best promoted by following
a high-glycemic, high-carbohydrate (CHO) diet (600 – 1000 grams CHO
or ~ 8 – 10 g CHO/kg/d), and ingestion of free amino acids and
protein (PRO) alone or in combination with CHO before resistance
exercise can maximally stimulate protein synthesis.

2.) During exercise, CHO should be consumed at a rate of 30 – 60
grams of CHO/hour in a 6 – 8 % CHO solution (8 – 16 fluid ounces)
every 10 – 15 minutes. Adding PRO to create a CHO:PRO ratio of 3 -
4:1 may increase endurance performance and maximally promotes
glycogen re-synthesis during acute and subsequent bouts of endurance
exercise.

3.) Ingesting CHO alone or in combination with PRO during resistance
exercise increases muscle glycogen, offsets muscle damage, and
facilitates greater training adaptations after either acute or
prolonged periods of supplementation with resistance training.

4.) Post-exercise (within 30 minutes) consumption of CHO at high
dosages (8 – 10 g CHO/kg/day) have been shown to stimulate muscle
glycogen re-synthesis, while adding PRO (0.2 g – 0.5 g PRO/kg/day) to
CHO at a ratio of 3 – 4:1 (CHO: PRO) may further enhance glycogen re-
synthesis.

5.) Post-exercise ingestion (immediately to 3 h post) of amino acids,
primarily essential amino acids, has been shown to stimulate robust
increases in muscle protein synthesis, while the addition of CHO may
stimulate even greater levels of protein synthesis. Additionally, pre-
exercise consumption of a CHO + PRO supplement may result in peak
levels of protein synthesis.

6.) During consistent, prolonged resistance training, post-exercise
consumption of varying doses of CHO + PRO supplements in varying
dosages have been shown to stimulate improvements in strength and
body composition when compared to control or placebo conditions.

7.) The addition of creatine (Cr) (0.1 g Cr/kg/day) to a CHO + PRO
supplement may facilitate even greater adaptations to resistance
training.

8.) Nutrient timing incorporates the use of methodical planning and
eating of whole foods, nutrients extracted from food, and other
sources.

The timing of the energy intake and the ratio of certain ingested
macronutrients are likely the attributes which allow for enhanced
recovery and tissue repair following high-volume exercise, augmented
muscle protein synthesis, and improved mood states when compared with
unplanned or traditional strategies of nutrient intake.

Dr. John Berdardi writes about nutrient timing in great detail in his article “The Science of Nutrient Timing, first published in 2004 and can be read at his website, www.johnberardi.com.

I have been enjoying my organic chocolate milk (3:1 ratio) after my heavy lifting days. It’s not as satisfying as a cold beer, but it is good enough!

nutrient timing, International Society of Sports Nutrition, creatine, protein, carbohydrate, sports nutrition, Warrior Diet, John Berardi, Ori Hofmekler,

The following is from Lyle McDonald’s Body Recomposition Newsletter

The first part is the research abstract, followed by Lyle’s comments and lastly, my own.

Research Review

Hoffman J et. al. Effect of creatine and beta-alanine supplementation on performance and endocrine responses in strength/power athletes. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2006 Aug;16(4):430-46.

The effects of creatine and creatine plus beta-alanine on strength, power, body composition, and endocrine changes were examined during a 10-wk resistance training program in collegiate football players. Thirty-three male subjects were randomly assigned to either a placebo (P), creatine (C), or creatine plus beta-alanine (CA) group. During each testing session subjects were assessed for strength (maximum bench press and squat), power (Wingate anaerobic power test, 20-jump test), and body composition. Resting blood samples were analyzed for total testosterone, cortisol, growth hormone, IGF-1, and sex hormone binding globulin. Changes in lean body mass and percent body fat were greater (P < 0.05) in CA compared to C or P. Significantly greater strength improvements were seen in CA and C compared to P. Resting testosterone concentrations were elevated in C, however, no other significant endocrine changes were noted. Results of this study demonstrate the efficacy of creatine and creatine plus beta-alanine on strength performance. Creatine plus beta-alanine supplementation appeared to have the greatest effect on lean tissue accruement and body fat composition.

My comments (Lyle): At this point in time, I would be surprised if anybody reading this newsletter wasn’t familiar with creatine. In that most supplements are worthless garbage that disappear 6 months after being touted as the next big thing, creatine is one of the few that has been around for going on a couple of decades. With over 600 studies having been done, and the majority of those showing some type of benefit on performance (especially for high intensity activity), there’s really no argument regarding creatine’s effectiveness. It’s cheap, it’s safe, it works for most (but not all) people as some are non-responders. At least one of the ways that creatine appears to work is by allowing lifters to perform more high intensity work. Lifters can often get an extra repetition or two at a given weight when they are creatine loaded and this generates faster progress over time.

Companies have tried to reinvent creatine a dozen times, micronized, chewable, effervescent, you name it. But bulk creatine monohydrate powder still works just as well as it ever did. Stuff today doesn’t even have the consistency of sand like it did back in the 90’s.

Relatively speaking, beta-alanine (an amino acid derivative) is fairly new on the block. As a matter of background, beta-alanine along with the amino acid histidine are used by the body to make a skeletal muscle buffer called carnosine (which is also sold for supplementation). Athletes involved in high intensity activities such as sprinting and bodybuilding have been found to have higher carnosine levels than endurance athletes and carnosine has been suggested to improve performance by helping to buffer acidosis. However, at least in animals, beta-alanine seems to work more effectively at raising tissue carnosine levels. At the very least, it’s cheaper and you need less of it.

Two studies came out last year examining the impact of beta-alanine supplementation on human carnosine levels and found an effect, high intensity bicycle performance was also increased. Recently, the idea that stacking creatine with beta-alanine has been suggested. In premise, by buffering acidosis, beta-alanine might allow a lifter to get more reps at a given load; like creatine this would be expected to improve the rate of gains.

33 strength and power athletes with at least 2 years of resistance training received either creatine by itself, beta-alanine and creatine or a placebo over 10 weeks of a 4 day/week split routine resistance training program. Subjects were tested for maximal strength in the bench press and squat as well as power via a Wingate test and 20 jump test. Body composition was also measured via DEXA and testosterone, cortisol, GH, IGF-1 and sex hormone binding globulin was measured.

The doses of supplementation were 10.5 g/day of creatine, 10.5 g/day creatine + 3.2 g/day of beta-alanine or 10.5 g/day of dextrose for the placebo group. Half of the supplement was taken twice per day (I want to note that the studies examining beta-alanine supplementation previously split the dose into 4 X 800 mg doses per day). Diet was uncontrolled and the study relied on self-reporting (notoriously inaccurate).

In terms of body composition changes, the creatine/beta-alanine group did better than placebo although there was quite a bit of variance. Slight increases in LBM with a loss of fat occurred in some but not all subjects. Again, the variance was pretty large so it’s hard to conclude much here. For example, in terms of fat loss, the majority of the creatine/beta-alanine group lost fat. But 2 of the subjects gained a bit. In terms of lean body mass, most of the creatine/beta-alanine group gained LBM but 3 of the subjects actually lost some and one broke even. In terms of averages, however, the creatine/beta-alanine group out-performed either the creatine or placebo groups.

In terms of maximal strength both the creatine and creatine/beta-alanine groups outimproved the placebo group, this appears to be due to the supplement groups maintaining a greater overall intensity (in terms of weight on the bar) and total volume (because they got more reps). Basically, the supplement groups were able to work harder and made better gains.

None of the groups showed major improvements in the power tests; given that they didn’t do any real training for those tests, this doesn’t surprise me. IN terms of hormones, no differences were seen between groups although the creatine group showed a slight increase in resting testosterone concentrations; this is tough to explain given that creatine wouldn’t be expected to affect hormone levels much. Even more difficult to explain is why the creatine alone group saw an increase but the creatine/beta-alanine group didn’t since both got the same amount of creatine.

Overall however it appears that a combination of creatine (10 g/day) and beta-alanine (3.2 g/day) has an additive effect in terms of allowing for a greater workout performance (higher average intensity, greater total volume) which leads to faster gains down the road. Bulk beta-alanine is available and bulk creatine is insanely cheap at this point.

I would note again that studies on beta-alanine have typically split the dose more than this study did, 800 mg taken 4X/day is a common dosing protocol; this is based on the half-life of beta-alanine in the body.

As a personal note, because of the nature of my sport, I decided to try beta-alanine after the initial studies came out. I used it for 4 weeks as indicated and noted exactly nothing in terms of improved performance. Nor have I noticed a drop in performance since stopping it. It may be that the nature of my training, which includes a tremendous amount of high intensity work has generated adaptations to muscle buffering such that beta-alanine won’t have much additional effect. One or two other people I’ve talked about about beta-alanine also got nothing out of it.

Still, based on this study, it may be a supplement worth considering if the rest of your diet and training is in order.

My comments: I have been taking creatine (6 g/day) for maybe two months and I have noticed some changes in my overall physique and strength. What makes this hard for me to evaluate is that those changes had already been underway from first doing the Warrior Diet and then doing Crossfit. Further, I am not an optimally trained elite athlete so it is not all that easy to notice whether a supplement is working or not, though most do not, IMO. Most of my improvement comes from the training itself and not the supplementation. Still, I have noticed a spike in my pr’s on the heavy lifting days. As to the beta-alanine, I am not yet sure. I take the recommended amounts before and after a session and it seems that on a high metabolic workout like Fran, I don’t have to rest as long as I had previously in a broken set of thrusters, for example. I do not seem to get as gassed during that type of workout, (but I always end up that way!) I would like to do some hill repeats on my inlines and compare, especially the last three climbs at max HR.

On a side note the Korean Olympic short track speedskating team supplements with b-a and they are the best in the world. The training in that sport is heavily anaerobic.

The jury is out on b-a for me at the moment and I have a bottle and a half left. What will be interesting is what happens when I stop taking it and that is when I will do a follow-up. As to price, or as Val likes to refer to, the cost to benefit ratio, creatine is inexpensive and well-documented. The beta-alanine, which, while not cheap, is not prohibitively expensive either, but would be the first to go if the gains are only marginal.

Ultimately, what it comes down to is what and when you eat at a macro level, combined with proper post-workout nutrition, a good multi vitamin, fish oil, water and plenty of rest which determines how well you can adapt and get stronger doing Crossfit workouts.

Through the years, I have tried and used many different types of sports supplements to enhance performance. I even did two cycles of the anabolic steroid Anavar years ago. For all the money spent, few really ever did what they were supposed to do. There is a mountain of bullshit in this industry, so let the buyer beware. Let me say from the start, the best performance-enhancing substance, bar none, is water. Coaches say, “Hydrate”. I say do that but drink water too! Just a 3% drop in your body’s fluid level will destroy your athletic performance. If you are thirsty in the middle of your event, you screwed up. You should have had that water beforehand.

Other supplements that I have used with success include the sports hydration drink Cytomax. On events over 10K and especially on warm days, this kept my electolytes stable and provided some carbs to utilize. I used to use a product called Muscle Nitro which was great because it was buffered against lactic acid build-up and contains branched chain amino acids. I don’t know that the buffering did much but the BCAA’s did. Over the last 25% of a race or an intense workout, I felt like I could go harder or at least push through the fatigue without a significant performance hit. The BCAA’s are also great for recovery and lean muscle building and are still one of the supplements I currently use for that reason combined with glutamine.

I consider post-workout nutrition to be very important and for that I use Warrior Milk, Muscle Milk or just a cup of plain yogurt and a banana. The sooner after a workout you take this in the better as it gets utilized immediately. You don’t need massive amounts of protein or carbohydrate either to gain the benefits of recovery and lean muscle growth. 20-50 minutes post-workout is considered optimun.

For endurance events, I enjoy using a bit of caffeine. It does add to the pre-race anxiety of not only the race but where you are going to find a place to pee before the gun goes off. When glycogen stores have been exhausted, caffeine has shown to be able to utilize free fatty acids as fuel. With caffeine, you have to make sure you go back to #1-hydrate. Caffeine is a diuretic.

Other supplements I use in addition to a good mult-vitamin is ester C, Stubborn Fat Burner and Estro-X, which are designed to reduce estrogen in the body and aid in the removal of toxins in the liver. I also use whey protein and consider that more of a macro food than a supplement. Anyone training should use whey unless they have a sensitivity to dairy products.

I also use DHEA and its precursor, 7-Keto for its testosterone-producing benefits. Testosterone builds muscle, but decreases with age, especially past 30. I’m over 50. Do the math!

Omega-3 oils are a must for a ton of reasons, including anti-inflammatory properties. Go read what Barry Sears of Zone Diet has to say about Omega-3 fish oils. You don’t have to buy his stuff, but do get pharmaceutical-grade or ultra-refined. Google it.

Two supplements I am experimenting with are Kre-Alkalyn, which is a capsule-form of creatine without the bloat. What is special about this creatine is that it maintains higher blood pH than regular creatine and more of it is utilized (up to 20x), thus you don’t have to take in nearly as much. As far as creatine goes, no supplement has as much scientific research behind it and it is the real deal. The newest thing is beta-alanine which creates the amino acid carnosine in the body. You can read more about it here, and here.

That said, my main focus is on good macro nutrition and water. Supplements that give a tiny ROI or if I don’t notice anything other than being $50 lighter in the wallet are eliminated. You still have to go out and run it, lift it skate it, throw it and have fun, right?