Hi everyone,

I've been going to the gym for about a year now and I'm wondering why some guys could increase their muscle mass faster compared to other guys.

Some suggests to take supplements but there are a lot in the market and I don't know which ones to choose.

Can someone give information which ones are the best? Will there be any damage in the organs if I take it?

Are you taking any supplements currently?

Staples in your diet at a minimum:
Whey Protein (preferrably an Isolate form)
ACES (Vitamin A (as Beta Carotene)), Vit C, Vit E, and Selenium
B-Complex
A good multi-mineral (ZMA type)
Fish Oil

Sports Supplements:
Pre-Workout Drink: preferably one that contains NO caffeine, has beta alanine, creatine, and citruline malate would be a good start.....ie MAN Sports Clout or Body Octane, other preworkout drinks ii have used with some success are SAN V12, Cytosport Fast Twitch (caffeine free)

g_lee - 08 July 2008 11:49 AM

Are you taking any supplements currently?

Staples in your diet at a minimum:
Whey Protein (preferrably an Isolate form)
ACES (Vitamin A (as Beta Carotene)), Vit C, Vit E, and Selenium
B-Complex
A good multi-mineral (ZMA type)
Fish Oil

Sports Supplements:
Pre-Workout Drink: preferably one that contains NO caffeine, has beta alanine, creatine, and citruline malate would be a good start.....ie MAN Sports Clout or Body Octane, other preworkout drinks ii have used with some success are SAN V12, Cytosport Fast Twitch (caffeine free)

Why no caffeine preworkout? Isn't all the marketing about caffeine to amp you up for your work out?

photoqueen - 08 July 2008 12:10 PM

Why no caffeine preworkout? Isn't all the marketing about caffeine to amp you up for your work out?

You are right all the marketing is about caffeine and being amped up for the workout, whle some may "feel" that this is helping their workout because they were able to power through it....but what will happen as they become more tolerant to the caffeine they will begin to up the dose to get the same "feeling"

Just remember its all about HYPE and MARKETING for a lot of supplement companies


As to why no caffeine pre-workout.......i prefer not to raise my cortisol levels in the pre-workout time frame.......which could potentially inhibit fat loss

Edited to fix format ....mis formatted the quote

g_lee - 08 July 2008 12:20 PM

photoqueen - 08 July 2008 12:10 PM

Why no caffeine preworkout? Isn't all the marketing about caffeine to amp you up for your work out?

You are right all the marketing is about caffeine and being amped up for the workout, whle some may "feel" that this is helping their workout because they were able to power through it....but what will happen as they become more tolerant to the caffeine they will begin to up the dose to get the same "feeling"

Just remember its all about HYPE and MARKETING for a lot of supplement companies


As to why no caffeine pre-workout.......i prefer not to raise my cortisol levels in the pre-workout time frame.......which could potentially inhibit fat loss

I used to always use the old ECA stacks. So did everybody else. Is there new data to suggest that the ECA stack is not the ideal way to go any more due to caffeine? Can you site references? This is good info. Thanks.

spherical - 08 July 2008 12:56 PM

I used to always use the old ECA stacks. So did everybody else. Is there new data to suggest that the ECA stack is not the ideal way to go any more due to caffeine? Can you site references? This is good info. Thanks.

I too at one time used the ECA stack and other caffeine containing pre-workout supplements until I got online and started researching a little bit on the potential effects.....i knew i had issues when i could pop a serving for a fat burner and be a sleep within 2 hours if i wanted to .....my current caffeine intake is down to ~1 cup of coffee/day (black w/splenda)

As far as siting references, can I use Dr Houser as a reference? He has a lot of great information on another site regarding this subject.....

Hopefully he will chime in as this is a good subject to discuss

There are many questions about supplements and medical issues and it's good if Dr. Houser can give more info about this.

I read that supplements rich in essential amino acids and protein are good for weight training. They build muscle mass faster and leaner.

Protein is good for muscle mass.

What kind of vitamins we can take for building muscles?

Aside from protein, are there any nutriemts (vitamins and minerals) we can take for building strong and bulky muscles?