What to Take and What’s Fake: The 3 Supplements You Should Be Taking To Get The Body You Want
Big News
I am extremely proud of my father for beginning the habit of regular exercise last week.
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Thank you very much for your donations to the DC Basket Brigade last month. That helped a lot.
Quote #10
”Fitness – if it came in a bottle, everyone would have it.” – Cher
Quick Tip #10
Aerobic exercise is even worse than I thought for fat-loss. Researchers in Seattle, WA had a large group of sedentary men and women do 45 to 60min. of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise, 6 days per week. At the end of an entire YEAR, the men dropped less than 4lbs (no zero’s), and the women dropped closer to 3lbs. And, since they were doing aerobic exercise, they did not gain any muscle whatsoever. So, all they lost was 3 or 4lbs a piece in a YEAR of hard work! Or, 1/3 of a pound per month for a man who exercised more than 6hrs/week! That is depressing “progress.” (Click here to read the abstract for free.)
Jennifer Portnick is a 240 aerobics instructor – she does aerobics for a living and she is this big!
(BTW, I dropped 45lbs of fat in 10 months in less than 4.5hrs/week of exercise. That’s over 12x as much fat lost in LESS time. The difference is that I lifted weights and did intervals, and did not waste even 60 sec on worthless aerobic exercise.)
Recipe #10: The Elvis Muscle Shake (5 min.)
While Elvis didn’t know much about being lean, he did know a thing or two about what tastes good, even if it does sound odd. We’ve modified one of his favorite flavor combinations – peanut butter and banana – into a great tasting, high-protein, and moderate calorie shake. Click here to check it out.
What To Take And What’s Fake
The 3 Supplements That You should be Taking to Get The Body You Want
By Josef Brandenburg
In good nutrition, real food (fruits, veggies, lean meats, nuts, low-fat dairy, and a limited amount of whole grains) comes first. But, you can really give yourself an edge in terms of health, energy, and the way you look in the mirror with a smart supplement program. And, you can do this without breaking the bank. It really all comes down to knowing what’s BS, and what can help. Unfortunately, the vast majority of supplements on the market are just snake oil.
This is because, unlike drugs, supplements are not regulated (not that I think that the way drugs are regulated is anything close to perfect). That is, a supplement manufacturer could take the dirt from your front yard, put it into capsules and call it “Organic Fat-Blaster 2000” with out any legal repercussions whatsoever. He could claim that you can lose fat “like magic with my all-natural [it is dirt after-all] fat-blasting formula.” So long, as he put some fine print saying “this product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease,” then he can make virtually any claim he likes. He would never have to do any research whatsoever to prove that his product worked. This is all very legal, and it happens every single day in every single health-food store in the US.
With that said, there are at least three supplements that I think everyone interested in greater health and fitness should be taking (I do not receive anything from anyone for my endorsements here). These are the three things that I take myself, and that I recommend to all of my clients take in order to maximize their results.
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1. Workout Recovery Drink
For improved fitness and improved body-composition, this is probably THE best thing that you can take. As it’s name suggests, it helps you to recover from your workouts better. Training + training = nothing, but training + recovery = progress. It also helps you to have a better, more intense workout from start to finish. The more intense your workout, the more progress you will make in terms of fat-loss (the more intense your workout, the greater your post workout metabolic boost will be), strength, muscle-size or whatever your training goals happen to be. I personally, would never do a workout without my drink.
The actual ingredients are very simple: it’s mostly just 2 parts fast digesting carbohydrates, and 1 part fast digesting protein. The fast digesting carbs and protein do two things: 1. They fuel your high-intensity workout. High intensity exercise requires carbs for fuel – high intensity exercise is what gets your body lean, NOT the other way around (click here if you need to read more on the subject). You will probably run out steam before the end of your workout, so having a little fuel extra keeps you going at full steam, and keeps your body from breaking down your muscle (your metabolism) to fuel your workout. 2. They jump start the recovery process when you’re done. One of the main places that you store carbs is in your muscles. High intensity exercise depletes your muscle’s carb stores, and your body’s top priority post-workout is to fill them back up (this is why you can eat carbs post-workout without any problem). When you take in your simple carb/protein drink, your body rushes it to your muscles (cannot go to fat cells), with the protein riding shot-gun. This immediately gives your muscles the raw materials necessary to begin repairing themselves to get better for the next workout.
Yes, simple carbs are sugar. But, during and after a workout, they cannot be stored as fat. They will be used for energy, or they will be stored in your muscle cells (that’s good). Burning them during a workout will not counteract the calories you burn during your workout. The important thing for fat-loss is that you get the intensity as high as possible, because this will boost your metabolism for the next 24-36hrs and cause your body to preferentially burn fat for fuel. You cannot achieve these high levels of intensity without adequate carbs during your workout. Without adequate fuel you’ll have a crap workout, which will accomplish nothing other than making you tired.
How and when to take it: Women ½ serving, and men, take 1 serving. Mix the powder with adequate water (directions on package), and begin sipping during your warm-up. Continue sipping during your workout. Finish it right after you’re done working out. Take during all workouts that involve resistance training (that should be 3days/week). A 15-20min. interval workout does not need SURGE.
I recommend: SURGE (www.metabolicdrive.com) My personal favorite is the Wild Raspberry flavor, but feel free to disagree. SURGE has the unique combination of being both the best product on the market and the least expensive. It is only available on-line. Most of what you can buy in a retail store like GNC is garbage. This is because for a $30 product, they only have $1-2 to invest in the actual ingredients, so you end-up with the cheapest, lowest quality stuff on the inside, despite the very flashy packaging outside. Here’s why: The manufacturer has to make the stuff, package the stuff, and pay for advertising the stuff – that’s a 500-1,000% mark-up right there when the sell it to the wholesaler. The wholesaler then marks it up 1-200% when they sell it to the retailer. The retailer then marks it up as much as 300% when they sell it to you.
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3. A Multivitamin
Unless you meticulously plan your diet (I mean every single meal of every single day) so that you get all of the vitamins, minerals, and other micronutrients that you need based on your age, sex, stress and activity level, then I guarantee that you have some holes in your diet. A multi-vitamin is an inexpensive insurance policy to fill in the gaps that are present in all but the most anal-retentive of us.
The fancy mega-dose, 6-pill-a-day versions are only good for producing expensive urine and overworked kidneys. Get the simple, relatively inexpensive, 1-pill-a-day, moderate dose multi-vitamin. Like Centrum, or the generic 1-a-day multi-vitamin from Whole Foods. Women, may want to opt. for the ones with extra calcium, but that is about as fancy as you should get.
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3. Fish Oil
If you live in an industrialized nation, then you are not getting enough omega-3 fatty acids in your diet – period. This leaves you at an increased risk for almost all chronic diseases, and makes it harder to drop body-fat, plus it can make your skin look less than it’s best. This is an inexpensive way to be healthier and to make dropping body-fat easier (its not magic, but it can certainly help if you are eating well and doing smart workouts). Make sure you get the fish-oil that is 3rd-party tested to contain no heavy metals.
Remember, first you have to eat right, then take these three things to supplement your good nutrition habits and take your body to the next level.
My Apologies
It does not look like I will have the time to take on any new clients until January of 2008. I have severely underestimated the demands of my summer school schedule – I’m in class 30hrs per week before I do any homework at all. That plus my existing clients, my charity, and other commitments will make it impossible to take on anyone else for a few months.
Josef Brandenburg is an award-winning Washington, DC based personal trainer. He focuses on helping regular, busy people create rapid and sustainable fat-loss in the time that they actually have. He is also the author of the book The Body You Want. Click here to find out more.