I seem to surprise people who meet me in the flesh for the first time. I don’t often take photos of myself and put them online, and I get the impression that most people think of me as a typical geek. For those of you don’t know, before I start pushing pixels, I studied pushing weights. In fact the only thing I formerly ever studied, was personal training. Now make no mistake, I’m not body builder huge, but even 10 years ago I met someone from some european design website, who remarked that I look like a light heavyweight boxer. I’m going on 40 years young this September, so needless to say I am not sporting a 6 pack, and I’m not ripped to shreds. But I am in descent enough shape for someone my age and I’ve actually been dropping my weight a bit, partly because of bad eating habits while I travel, partly because I try to train just about every day and lastly and most importantly because I supplement. So I thought today I’d share the 7 products I take daily and when I take them, in my attempt to maintain my non-geeky appearance.
Morning
100% WHEY GOLD STANDARD first thing in the morning to fuel my sleepy body and wake me up with the jet fuel of protein.
Pre-workout
Nano Vapor is the perfect pre-workout drink to give me immediate energy, focus & strength. Maximum pumps and prevent muscles cramps. Lean muscle & recovery.
BCAA 1000 CAPS Branched Chain Amino Acids have been part of my training supplementation since the first time I ever picked up a weight. They help with muscle building and recovery .
GLUTAMINE CAPS 1000MG L-Glutamine helps promote muscle recovery after intense exercise. I always read that this was the number 1 supplement most bodybuilder’s took, if I remember correctly it helped with avoiding muscle depletion.
Post-workout
PLATINUM HYDROBUILDER is the perfect dose of protein and post-workout supplements to ensure I feed those hard-worked and depleted muscles.
BCAA 1000 CAPS Branched Chain Amino Acids have been part of my training supplementation since the first time I ever picked up a weight. They help with muscle-building and recovery .
GLUTAMINE CAPS 1000MG L-Glutamine helps promote muscle recovery after intense exercise. I always read that this was the number 1 supplement most bodybuilder’s took, if I remember correctly it helped with avoiding muscle depletion.
Bedtime
100% CASEIN PROTEIN is the perfect late night snack, Casein a slow-digesting protein for those long periods where you are not able to feed yourself and your body needs fuel to recover while you rest.
ZMA is a supplement I was advised to take to help me sleep better. I used to struggle to fall asleep as I was usually to wired from screen time, but I am usually out like a light within 30 minutes of taking ZMA. Zinc, Magnesium and Vitamin B6 are also much-needed micronutrients that help with recovery while you rest.
Here are a few tips to compliment your supplement intake.
Drink water, lots of water. Like 8 tall glasses of water. I usually have a glass after taking supplements. Before every meal. Always have a bottle handy, even when I’m out and about and when I go to bed.
Eat food. You cannot supplement only. This is advice I need to take myself as I tend to skip more meals than I do supplements. I try to eat around every 3 hours a day, although not always possible.
Timing is everything, it’s not enough to just take the supplements, you need to take the right supplements and the optimum time. I’m very focussed on before and after training and early morning and late at night.
Listen to your body, if your stomach is a mess or you are way too wired to sleep or heaven forbid function, reduce the dose or even stop using the supplements.
There are workout supplements and non-workout supplements, don’t waste your money taking a pre-workout drink on a non-workout day. But make sure that even on rest days, your body is still getting the right nutrition while it recovers.
Consult and expert. I no longer practice personal training, so please consult a fitness and/or nutrition expert. I am merely sharing my supplement routine to show what works for me, but we are not all equal, so speak to someone in the know, this is your body after all.
Remember, healthy body, healthy mind. Even if you only push pixels around, you need a strong temple, for that creative muscle.