The term “stack” has its origins in Old Norse as having to do with haystacks. Shortly around this time, men were noted to say, “Aye, that women be stacked to the brim,” since a particularly well endowed female trait made the appearance of two neatly placed haystacks. That last sentence wasn’t actually true. For whatever reason, the term “stack” was associated with a nutritional (natural or otherwise) supplement to one’s training. I don’t know if it originated in bodybuilding, Olympic lifting, or power lifting, and to be honest, I don’t really give a poo. These days it seems to have a bodybuilding connotation, which is usually comically unnecessary. Modern bodybuilding literature (propaganda?) is infamous for its ridiculous products with promised results. Thus, in certain groups, “stack’ may have a negative connotation.
That is, until Brent Kim decided to be a pain in the ass.
Typical waste of money stack
There are some essential items that a lifter should, in essence, stack onto their training. It is important to note that the value of these items is reduced to precisely “dick” if you aren’t eating appropriate amounts of protein and calories in order to recover and improve. But, for the sake of this post, we are going to assume you have this under control (Guideline: 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight, and if you aren’t recovering, then you aren’t getting enough calories).
It wasn’t too long ago that Brent’s training stack was a healthy dose of kimchee and bulgogie (Korean barbecue, which is top notch). Then there came a time when Brent duly noted the fish oil intake that I adhered to. The following conversation ensued:
Brent: How much should I take?
Me: Well, I take about 14g, so you should probably take 8 to 10
Brent: I’m going to take 28 grams because I am twice the man you are.
And thus Brent started thinking about his stack. Thinking led to reading, reading let to more thought, and then, Brent wanted to know what everyone else’s stack was. Relentlessly.
“Hey man, what’s your stack?” was asked both in a serious and comical manner. Serious, for he really did want to know, and comical because the usage of the term “stack” is previously associated with the bodybuilding silliness described above. When Brent first started saying it, it was embarrassing, because anybody who heard might think he was serious about the term. The problem was that he was serious, but now it’s okay because he/we have changed the term into its new accepted usage and meaning (which generally gets out of hand with my group of friends).
In any case, your stack is something that is “stacked onto” your training program and your food intake. If your food intake isn’t appropriate for your goals, then you don’t have any business worrying about your stack. If you don’t even know how you should be eating to accomplish your goals, then you have some research to do, and still don’t need to worry about your stack. Even if you did have all of those things taken care of, a lifter doesn’t need much in his stack to reap the supplemental rewards. Here are some essentials.
Note: As always, consult your physician about any of this stuff. If you take any of this stuff because you read about it here, you do so at your own risk. If you are unsure about any of it, then don’t take it.
Whey Protein
This may not even be considered part of a stack because it might be a staple to your diet. In any case, it’s supplemental to food, so I’ll include it here. If you aren’t getting your allotted protein intake, then nothing else really matters. Sometimes you’re in a pinch and can’t eat all of it in the source of meat, so whey protein is a nice, quick replacement. You don’t need to buy anything expensive, because all the brands will do the same thing anyway. Most brands are outfitted with BCAA’s, and generally the more money you spend, the better it tastes. However, if they make claims on the absorption rate or any of that other bullshit, just ignore it. It’s useless, and we are worried about the chronic intake of protein anyway. My buddy Mike likes the Optimum Nutrition brand because their protein is tasty, and they have lots of flavors. You can also get the EAS brand at Sam’s Club for pretty cheap.
Multi-Vitamin
Vitamins and minerals are vital to a healthy, functioning body. Sometimes our diet doesn’t include all of the goodies that we may need. Even if you are eating plenty of Paleo-esque meats, fats, vegetables, and fruits, you may accidentally neglect something. In such a case, having a decent multivitamin can pick up the slack. If you are training hard then you’ll need more vitamins anyway, and if you’re eating to gain mass you’ll be purposely neglecting some healthy foods. Cover your bases with a generic brand multi-vitamin — you don’t have to spend lots of money on it. Bill Starr always recommended the shovel technique to get more than you’ll actually need. This is fine with water soluble vitamins (Vitamins C and B-vitamins) because you’ll just pee the excess out, but keep an eye on some brands that have crazy amounts of fat soluble vitamins like A, K, D, and E. I’m not saying shy away from them (especially because we’ll need more of most stuff when we’re training hard), but you won‘t need ridiculous amounts. Lastly, make sure your multi-vitamin is equipped with magnesium and zinc.
Fish Oil
I haven’t done a literature review on fish oil, but I’ve seen some of the research. In any case, lots of people who are “in the know” regarding nutrition recommend fish oil for its anti-inflammatory properties, it’s improvement on blood lipid profiles, and its apparent ability to lower the chance of certain diseases, conditions, and cancers. As a lifter, you want it for the anti-inflammatory properties, because when you lift hard, you get lots of inflammation. Following that logic, it is something that has the potential to help with recovery, and that’s what we want. To get an idea of how much you should take, here is a fish oil calculator that my friend Melissa Urban created for Robb Wolf’s blog.
Creatine
“Creatine is one of the only supplements that does what it actually says it is going to do.” — paraphrased from conversations with Dr. Kilgore. As a clunky summary, it helps the phosphocreatine system reproduce ATP faster, and this helps in the recovery from short, intense bursts of work (like what happens in lifting). There has been talk on the internet of “non-responders”, but the real problem is getting it to absorb correctly (there are quite a few factors that can limit absorption). Dr. Kilgore once told me that mixing the monohydrate in chocolate milk is a fantastic way to help it absorb (the lipids and sugars each play their part — look up how these things are digested for clarification). The general consensus for ingesting creatine monohydrate is to load for 5 days at 0.3g/kg of bodyweight, and then maintain at .03g/kg bodyweight.
There is a new product called creatine ethyl ester which gets converted into creatine within the body. The draw is that it apparently absorbs better, but it’s more expensive, and I don’t have time for ‘more expensive’.
Fiber
When eating to increase or maintain mass, vegetables may get ignored. In such a case, you are gonna want to eat some fiber. I’ve written about it before here: http://www.70sbig.com/?p=1041
Intestinal benefits aside, it will make your bathroom time more enjoyable, especially if you’re drinking a gallon of milk.
Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate
This stuff is supposed to help with joint health. Hell, I don’t know if it works. Some people swear by it and some people swear at it. I figured that since I want to lift throughout my entire life, and since I’m doing a lot of jumping around in the Olympic lifts, I my as well try it. I wouldn’t say I had sore knees, but I could feel them after some rough Oly workouts, sometimes the next day. I got a cheap pair of cloth knee sleeves and started taking glucosamine/chondroitin, and I haven’t noticed it anymore. Lots of factors go into this, but if you’re willing to try anything…
Again, I want to reiterate that none of this really matters if you aren’t eating well. Tons of people will have opinions on nutritional supplementation and most will get weirdly complicated. I’m not really into that; I just get a few things to try and maximize my recovery without spending a whole lot of money. I’m sure most of you will have some kind of comment today. Realistically, the only person you should listen to is Gant, because most of you don’t know why the hell you’re taking something.
I really hope I don’t regret making a supplement post. I really just wanted to use the title, “Hey man, what’s your stack” somewhere. Oh, and my etymology of “stack” was worth writing.
best fucking article ever
Brent is awesome.
Just refer to the next article:
http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/snake-oil-supplements/
And the discussion is ‘closed’ as they would say.
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Good stuff. Some of the “science” is a bit spotty, but this isn’t bad.
Red yeast rice might be a bit high, and I’d like to see white tea (instead of green), but I like that chart.
I don’t think highly of gluco/chondro/MSM. Some people like it. Not nearly as effective as fish oil + Deca, though.
Milk thistle is probably listed as conflicting because some use it for liver support and others use it as an aromatase inhibitor (maybe ineffective but safer than SERM).
Some also report good things about cissus. I’ll wait.
Thanks for the link.
Gant
If you have a Costco in your area, they have Kirkland Signature brand Fish Oil (400 softgels – 1000mg), Kirkland Signature brand Daily Multi vitamins & minerals (500 tablets), and a joint supplement called Triple Flex that has Glucosamine, Chondroitin Sulfate, and Hyaluronic Acid. Very affordable and the Kirkland Signature brand products are all USP certified.
That calculator says I should take 13 fish oil caps a day.
This is, to my slightly cynical and logically straight thinking mind, utter nonsense.
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The calculator seems a bit high, IMO. If you’re not eating oily fish three times a week, you should take some amount of fish oil, probably more than seems right. Check your label. the EPA+DHA is what you want to focus on. The rest–fish oil concentrate, total oil, etc.–is just filler.
Gant
I don’t know how much would be “enough”. I take 14 grams.
–Justin
Which is not to demean or dismiss anyone. Just no hope of me taking that seriously.
Anonymoose, why is that?
Also, cheers Justin for making the article.
In regards to Zinc supplementation, I’ve read a number of times that it shouldn’t be taken with dairy products as this prohibits the absorption of zinc.
Would this count for whey protein? As it’s derived from milk? Or do you think it’d more to do with the lactose in dairy products (which I believe isn’t generally found in whey).
Thanks again for the article.
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It can depend on what form of Zn you’re taking, but calcium generally inhibits absorption (this isn’t always the case- you see them packaged together frequently).
I wouldn’t rely on a multi to get my Zn of Mg.
Gant
Does the zinc get in the way of lactase breaking down lactose? If that is the case, whey would not have that problem.
–Justin
As I had mentioned previously, I started ‘working out’ a while back and fell prey to the promises of “XXlbs of lean muscle a month guaranteed!”. I spent a crap load of money on a bunch of crap that I didn’t need and in some cases was detrimental to myself getting stronger.
The misinformation floating around with regards to all aspects of weight training and ‘bodybuilding’ is massive and pervasive.
Since I learned to think for myself and not listen to my ‘bros’ at the gym, I’ve been taking creatine and a multivitamin, and subbing whey when I can’t get enough chow.
—–
Consider yourself lucky. I was choking down amino acid horse pills in the mid-80s. We all fall victim at some point. The only things that actually work (in terms of gains) are creatine and the original Hot Stuff (which was turbocharged).
Nitric oxide may have some benefits, but I haven’t cared enough to do the research. A friend hooked me up with NO Explode for MTB racing. I liked it, but it wasn’t much different than Ritalin + Mountain Dew + chorizo + bacon. That stack is hard to beat IMO.
Gant
The Kirkland Brand Fish Oil from Costco is great. I’ve been taking it for more than a year now. You can actually purchase it online from Costco, and the price is still far and away better than other high quality fish oil.
my stack is bacon and milk
That’s fine.
–Justin
Did anyone read the link I posted, you should. Science says the only vitamine that is proven usefull for general health is vitamin D.
—–
Science also says squatting is bad for your knees and that a grain-based diet is ideal. I like the chart and agree with it, but “because science says so” is not always the best endorsement. Independent pharma and biochem researchers (when you can find them) publish some good stuff (at which point they get snatched up and are no longer independent).
-Gant
Justin,
Weak stacks man… wheres the trib? Fictional hormone replacements with names loosely based on real steroids (winsterol-v anyone?)? Where in gods name is Nitric Oxide 4 zee pump? Wheres the supplement bottles with Jay Cutler on the front?
This site is bullshit… no talk of curlz or 8 packs or hitting chest and bis everyday.
Sorry… just really wanted to make a comment and sound like a bbing douche briefly. Dont kill me tomorrow.
—–
Trib is overblown IMO. NO may provide some boost, but it’s not worth the price.
Now…prohormones can be the real deal. You can tweak your endocrine system enough with gray market supplements to get most of the effects you’d get from gear. My question is, if you’re going to play around with gray market prohormones–that could mess with other stuff–why not just do the real thing, which is safer and more effective?
Gant
Unrelated to stacks, but I recently drilled a new hole my belt, which a few people had expressed interest in a month or so ago. I used a bit with a diamond-shaped tip on the end of it, and that worked nicely. The suede around the hole is slightly jagged, but it doesn’t change function and isn’t noticeable to anyone else.
@EmileV
“Did anyone read the link I posted, you should. Science says the only vitamine that is proven usefull for general health is vitamin D.”
I have no idea how you have come to this conclusion.
If you take a look at the data used to make the table you will see they focus on certain “conditions”. For example, for Vitamin C they looked at “anti-viral, general health and urinary”. They then quote a study on the review of the antioxidant hypothesis. An evidence value of “2/6” is then somehow assigned.
However, vitamin C is used for collagen synthesis. Collagen is used to make the connective tissue keeps a lot of your body held together. You might have heard of scurvy (from lack of vit c), where your teeth fall out and you bleed from all of your mucus membranes and then you die.
Not being dead is pretty useful to general health imo.
@ Real_Scots
Now, MuscleTech has taken it to a whole new level of promising people 10 lbs of lean muscle in a week with their super flashy Cell Tech and Nitro Tech. Both of which must be used together to create the perfect conditions for hypertrophy at the small price of $159.99!!
@Christian
Isn’t it the other way around? Instead of looking at science that proves the ‘condition’ they looked at articles that supported any general health benefit by supplementation of vitamin C. Be that heart diseases or positive collagen synthesis. Whatever.
I want your agreement on this: Is it right you assume that when you are in shortage of vitamin C you get nasty things so supplementing vit C must have positive effects.
That’s how I read your last paragraph.
Nobody in the Western World with atleast half a brain eats enough normal stuff that would supply in your daily dose of vitamin C needed to function properly.
Protip EmileV: Proof-read your posts before you send them.
Brent… wtf mate.
Appreciate the information: my takeaway was take a multi-vitamin, take fish oil, take creatine, and use whey protein to make sure I’m eating right. Just yesterday I was going to be asking about creatine, thanks for the info.
P.S. The supplement companies reference scientific studies to prove their product increases lean muscle synthesis by 800% – why are you fucking with science?
As a scientist, I feel obliged to chime in on a few comments.
Nothing is ever proven in science- If you’ve heard this word, you’re probably watching too many drug commercials for information. You are able to find data that supports a hypothesis or that contradicts a hypothesis.
The 1.5-2g protein / kg (1g/lb) bodyweight is a _guideline_. Guidelines are set by groups (like NSCA), not be scientists-as-a-whole–although it may be all but unanimous. Guidelines are set because a group thinks that the guideline is right for most people most of the time–see blanket statements.
@EmileV- The only science recognized by the scientific community is what is published in peer-reviewed journals (go to Pubmed.gov) There are >48,000 articles on “Vitamin D”, find 1 that says it is the only vitamin proven useful for general health and I’ll bite.
Personally, I don’t like stacks because they can fill you up without providing any calories.
Eat big, lift hard. Be 70’s big.
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Which leads to another good point, personal (and collective) experience trumps accepted science in many cases. Re: protein, you can find articles recommending from as low as .4g/lb BW to 3g/lb BW. My personal experience–and the experience of many others–leads me to believe that you won’t get significant growth at anything under 1.0g/lb BW. I’d recommend 1.25-1.5g at a minimum for growth.
-Gant
Tom,
I don’t believe that that volume of any refined substance is a great idea. Also, I don’t believe that Paleo man would ever have access to that amount of fish, bar the eskimos.
Also if people seriously start consuming that amount of fish oil there will be no fish oil left pretty soon.
Also maybe that it would be similar to getting all your protein requirements from Whey. I.e. getting carried away with supplementation.
Also the race survived quite well for thousands of years with no real access to refined fish oil in massive quantities. Men became strong, lived wholesome healthy lives and sired offspring through eating fish and vegetables.
Although I will say this, I have much less concern as to my food quality (Omega-6 content-wise) due to where I live, than the “average American” that I assume the calculator is aimed at.
—–
To be fair, a natural meat-based diet is completely adequate for anything we do. However, squatting 600 and weighing 275 wasn’t really in the plan. You’ll have to go above and beyond for this.
Also, the Omega 3:6 content and ratio of wild, foraging game was much different than our meat choices today.
-Gant
See if you can spot where the words “and meat” are missing there.
“because most of you don’t know why the hell you’re taking something.”
Hey I know exactly why I’m taking the stuff I do. Because Robb Wolf told me to. :)
“Wheres the supplement bottles with Jay Cutler on the front?”
I lol’d.
I recently attended a supplement seminar at my gym held by Lyle McDonald. A few in this camp might have a bad taste for him, but the guy knows more about this sort of thing than most ever should, and he is as skeptical about brand name supps as he is about everything else.
I learned a bit, but mostly confirmed what I had already read/believed. Since then, I’ve been taking the following “stack:”
Multivitamin (Kirkland), Fish Oil (Costco, >3g dha/epa), Calcium Citrate 1200mg, Vit D ~3000iu, Zing 50mg, Magnesium 300mg.
I previously played with creatine monohydrate (Lyle firmly believes that the new ethyl esters are pure crap)to no avail, but am going to try again at ~5g/day and see if I respond this time, since I’m not eating 5k cal worth of red meat per day anymore. (Also, Justin, your note about creatine loading seems to be off on its math) I have experimented with massive amounts of fish oil, per Wolf, basically drinking bottles of Nutrasea HP liquid, with zero results save an empty wallet, so I’ve backed it off to 3g/day. YMMV.
Everything on this list is cheap and I have a reason for taking it in addition to 200-250g/protein per day – almost all from real foods. Hopefully over the next few months I will have some meaningful results to follow up with.
The creatine recommendation was given to be by Dr. Kilgore. He has every piece of research in his field memorized since 400 B.C. I am going to listen to him.
–Justin
@Stillgrowing:
Amen.
And as cool as “zing” sounds, it’s supposed to be zinc. I’ll be amazed if some company hasn’t already abused that typo and doubled the price of their repackaged Zinc.
@EmileV
“I want your agreement on this: Is it right you assume that when you are in shortage of vitamin C you get nasty things so supplementing vit C must have positive effects.”
No, I do not assume nor did I write that if “none is bad, the surely more must be better”.
Are you familiar with the concept of Estimated Average Requirements (EARs), Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) / Adequate Intake (AIs) and Tolerable upper intake levels (ULs) ? These are all concepts that make up the “Dietary Reference Intake” (DRI system of nutrition recommendations provided by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
“Nobody in the Western World with atleast half a brain eats enough normal stuff that would supply in your daily dose of vitamin C needed to function properly.”
Well, that might be your opinion, but a quick search of the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard References reveals that an orange contains 82mg of vitamin c and an apple contains 8mg.
According to the National Academy of Sciences. Institute of Medicine. Food and Nutrition Board the average adult male requires 90mg a day.
Anyone with at least half a brain can work out that 82mg + 8 mg = 90mg.
Therefore I propose that you include fruits like apples and oranges in your daily diet. Popping a multivitamin probably won’t tip you over the top of the UL’s.
Jesus, 30 comments already? This oughta be good…
Oh snap! Justin lobbed a grenade and ran for cover, leaving me to deal with it. And after we planned chicken fried steak night.
Stacks used to be the drugs that people were adding to their baseline drug, e.g. cycling DBol and Winnie on top of a testosterone foundation. Now people refer to supplement stacks…so we can all play, I guess.
IMO, the foundation supplements are fish oil, vitamin D, magnesium, and zinc. You might not need fish oil if you eat like an Asian fisherman. Otherwise look into it. Get 15 minutes of natural sunlight a day and you’re probably good on D (and you avoid seasonal depression, not to mention people yelling at you to put your shirt back on). You can get Mg and Zn from food, but probably not enough. If you’re an active American male, you’re gonna be low.
Creatine doesn’t need to be loaded any more than you need to “repeat” after the initial shampoo and rinse.
Buy whey, not Super Muscle Gainer Complex 34923457. You don’t need a soy/whey/casein blend. Just get whey and be done with it.
Some people like BCAAs pre-workout. These supps usually have caffeine in them that provide a small pick-me-up. If you subscribe to this, save your money, pop a tea pouch in your gum like a Skoal bandit, and take some whey pre-workout.
I’ll comment here and there, but I’m not going to grok the entire comments thread. There are three things you can take away.
1. Fruit is great. It’s recently been vilified by idiots as being too high carb. If you’re training heavy and think multis are a waste of time like I do, eat fruit. All of it. Don’t worry about the excess from glycogen replenishment turning into adipose tissue. Just eat your fruit.
2. Most of the stuff at GNC is crap.
3. If it works really, really well, it’s not legal.
You should probably explain the importance of Zn and Mg for the audience.
–Justin
The two things missing that I think should be included:
Ibuprofen.
Caffeine Pills.
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As essential? Why?
-Gant
Anonymoose,
I’m not really impressed with Paleo man. He had an average lifespan of like 35 years??? And he did a lot of dumb shit like have unprotected sex. Paleo man probably did not wash his hands after urinating or taking a dump.
You’re going to have to make a convincing argument for why we, as modern athletes, would want to emulate the lifestyle of a fucking caveman. He lived under harsh conditions and ate the way he did because he absolutely had to, not because he thought it was a healthier alternative, and I’m sure given a choice he would have loved to live and eat more similarly to us.
Paleo man may not have had access to that amount of fish but that doesn’t really matter because his life fucking sucked.
We have access to better things and ideas now and it’d be dumb to not take advantage of thousands of years of learning and technological advancements because a dumber, less prolific version of ourselves lived in a shit hole environment.
—–
We have that case study, and it’s Brendan Frasier in Encino Man. He much preferred a modern lifestyle and diet.
The irony of your linked url is not lost on me.
-Gant
I don’t want to promote sales pitches or start a brand war, but other than Kirkland what brands to people put their trust in? Below are mine.
Vitamin/Mineral: Reliv. Yes, the distribution channel is network marketing, but I can honestly say this is the single best supplement I’ve ever taken. (I don’t sell the stuff so I’m not self-promoting.) Plus it’s patented for God’s sake.
Whey Protein: Optimum Nutrition. Affordable, mixes well, and decent taste. What more can you ask for? Not a big fan of EAS protein.
Creatine: When I take it, EAS Phosphogen has always given me the best results. Very affordable also. I tried ProSource’s self-branded pure creatine and got nothing from it.
Justin – I missed a decimal on the loading/maintaining, sorry. “Ok! Ok! I must have, I must have put a decimal point in the wrong place
or something. Shit. I always do that. I always mess up some mundane detail!” (best movie ever)
Either way, loading isn’t required (as Gant mentioned), but some people prefer to do it to notice an initial water mass bump. Last time I didn’t gain a pound even with a loading protocol, but my diet this time around is much different (and lamer), so hopefully I’ll respond to it.
I’m also not 100% sold on the joint supps but will take ’em for a solid month and see if I notice any difference in my creaky old man shoulders/knees/hips.
—–
I think the initial water bump is the only reason to load. And it seems to be a non-issue (i.e. non-benefit) after the first go-round.
I’ve been using a light wrap on my knees for squats (light wraps from Academy, not thick powerlifting ones). Rip and a couple other guys have been doing the same. It’s done more for tendonitis than gluco/chon/MSM ever thought about doing.
In terms of joint support, I’d say:
gluco/chon/MSM < compression < fish oil + deca. -Gant
I was wondering about this topic recently. Now that I am back on SS and eating again, I may incorporate some creatine in to my diet.
I was using that fish oil calc as a guide when I hurt my wrist. I was taking 26 Kirkland enteric coated fish oils a day and my ass blew off. It was terrible. My body couldn’t process all of the pills fast enough, even when split in three different doses and eaten with full meals. I went back to the regulars that give me fish burps. At least there is no threat of sharting a sardine anymore.
Brent,
You misunderstand me, or else you are projecting your own anti-paleo feelings onto me.
I have little to no interest in Paleo man, but the resource that is prescribing stupid amounts of fish oil is certainly a Paleo resource. I assume that if someone asks me to explain why I can’t take necking obscene amounts of fish oil seriously, they might be in disagreement with my position. And this is the internet after all.
Generally have some big scepticism for anything coming from the Paleo crowd cos I see some unfettered bullshit logic in their writings.
So I’m not really going to have to make any arguments for Paleo.
Again maybe when all the meat in your stores was raised on plastic and HFCS its necessary to supplement a vat of fish oil, but I don’t have that problem as much.
Either way, shovelling vast amounts of refined fish guts down ones throat is mentalism in my book.
“it wasn’t much different than Ritalin + Mountain Dew + chorizo + bacon. That stack is hard to beat IMO.”
Tastes a hell of a lot better also.
Not that anyone needs it on top of Gant’s rec, but Mg and Zn really are foundational. If taken in the form of ZMA (admittedly pricier than purchasing them separately), the benefits on sleep quality alone are worth it IMO. And you get bonus crazy dreams. Plus Dan John is on board with minerals, which is good enough for me.
And as much as I have a crush on Melissa Urban/Byers, the fish oil calculator does seem to suggest a rather large amount. Like Snyder, I think most people taking the rx’d number of caps will find their asses blowing off.
anybody use coke pre workout?
I use it right before I masturbate,
–A.C.
@Gant
The trib and prohormone comments were purely for joking reasons. I participate in the worlds second most proanabolic steroid sporting event called professional wrestling. In the course of my four years in wrestling ive had a lot of buddys mess around with the generic legal gray market steroids with little results. I also have seen a good portion of them swear that trib is a miracle drug but ive seen little aestetic results come from that for them as well. Im sure my time will come when its time to load up on some test and maybe other anabolics but at the moment im newer to lifting than most fifteen year olds due to my incredible lazyness and decent genetics in my first three years of wrestling. However being 21, lazy and managing a Braum’s ended up being a bad idea on my body and the decision was made to start training right after a lot of random people put stock into me as being “good” and a “future prospect” and winning multiple tag belts and randomly going from shows held in flea markets in front of crowds of 15 to a lot bigger and better shows. Everything ive read steroid related seems to say its for experienced lifters so ill wait until WWE has an offer on my table or Ive actually lifted long enough to justify doing so. Until then im going to squat 3x a week, eat a lot of meat, say my prayers and eat my vitamins.
Also I have probably seen you up at WFAC before but im terrible at approaching people.
That got a little ranty… sorry. New to posting so excited over all the 70s bigness :S.
@Brent
Your life certainly does not paleo man level suck… double cheeseburgers and banana splits are the exact opposite of suckitude. I did enjoy the post on paleo man done by you… although unprotected sex without repurcussions would be nice. Paleo man had to just worry about paleo children… modern man gets to worry about children, diseases, if its someone elses girl and a slew of other things.
—–
I know the trib and prohormone stuff was a joke, but some people push that stuff. My point is, if you’re going to go with prohormones, you may as well go with the real thing.
If you’re a wrestler we need to talk, especially if you’re in Wichita Falls (how did I not know this?). Email me at (gantgrimes AT gmail) or holler at me. I train around lunch.
PS Brent’s life sucks as bad as Paleo man’s. He has few modern conveniences, and there are large angry people trying to kill him.
-Gant
Hey guys, sorry to be off topic, but does anyone have any recommendations on where I can get a high quality 3 inch lifting belt (my torso is too short for a 4 inch belt)? I’ve tried a few of the sites mentioned on the belt specific blog posts, but no luck. Inzer does not carry 3 inch belts and Elite FTS is out of stock. Thanks.
coffee, you forgot coffee!
Gant,
Emailed you. Hoping it went through… phoneinternet is my current communication source.
Anonymoose,
I had a knee-jerk reaction to your argument that man had been living for thousands of years without refined fish oil as well as your sentiment that supplementing with 10g+ fish oil was comparable to getting all of your protein requirements from whey protein.
Omega 3s can be obtained through non-refined supplements obviously but EPA and DHA are kind of a big deal, and as Gant mentioned unless you eat large amounts of fish on a daily basis it’s hard to get a significant amount of those particular fatty acids in your diet without supplementing.
What about the idea of finding a fish oil capsule with a larger ratio of EPA/DHA:total fish oil to reduce how many capsules you’d need a day?
The anti-inflammatory properties of EPA/DHA are dose-dependent, so if you train pretty hard and are bigger than 150lbs I don’t think 10g+ is extreme.
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The dosing is a good point. Generally, the less you pay for a product, the more pills you’ll have to take for an effective dose. I’m not endorsing the fish oil calculator, but if you buy cheap ass caps, you’re going to have to take 80 of them. It’s the same when drinking beer or eating crawfish.
-Gant
fongholio,
Check out http://www.bestbelts.net/
Good article.
Im still recovering from a severely torn pec (ripped the costal head completely off the ligament)
No surgery, but recovery has been slow. Going to start supplementing creatine to see if it helps me progress any.
Anybody have any experience with that SPECIFIC injury? Ive seen two osteopathic Surgeons and both were at a loss as to whether surgery would be beneficial.
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Creatine isn’t going to do anything for your healing. I had a friend that sped up his shoulder rehab with anavar and GH, but I can’t really recommend that to you.
-Gant
I spoke too soon. Examination of the MRI by the radiologist said no tear. Orthopedist says there is, in fact, a tear, and a major one. Surgery is needed. Well, shit.
some so-called experts say that L-tyrosine is effective, not sure for what, but whats your stance about it
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Effective for what? In lifting parlance, the metabolic typing camp is pushing this. In alternative medicine, it’s used to treat anxiety, depression, or drug withdrawal. It’s also been heralded as a weight loss supplement. I don’t know much more than that. It’s not on my radar.
-Gant