Training & Nutrition - supplementation - What do you take and why

I have a feeling that this may be a big thread that people may want to read quickly. Simply put, I am looking for any supplementation that you may take and no more than 3 or 4 sentences on your personal experience. Many people here are looking to enhance their performance through supplementation, Some of you are against supplementation. If you are, then just read the posts. Please keep in mind I am looking for LEGAL supplements, no doping or anything of the sort. Stuff you can buy at you local GNC or place of simular nutrition. I am hopeing that this thread will help a lot of people with their supplement questions. Thanks everyone for contributing. I for one will be interested in your reply's as well.

Just because I know about this stuff does not mean I use it myself personally or endorse their use by anyone else. There are side-effects and negative results sometimes with a single compound or when used in combination with others. You also have to balance short-term vs. long-term goals and a lot of times, quick-results cannot be maintained for very long. I make no guarantees of any kind and individual results will vary, use at your own risk...


bicarbonate - (baking soda) one to two tablespoons in 8-12oz water, gulped down 15-20 minutes before intense exertion will helps buffer lactic acid burn. You can extend a 100% effort sprint for 2-5 seconds longer. Recovery afterwards is faster as well, setting you up for the next sprint. Best for short-distance events of 1-hour or less, such as track-events or crits. Side-effects include stomach upsets, cramps, vomitting and diarrhea.

caffeine, ginseng and other stimulants. Induces secretion of glucagon and adrenaline which has a glycogen-sparing effect. Extends time before you bonk. Can be good for training endurance as well as medium-distance events. Increased adrenaline levels also has dopamine effect of lowering muscle-pain and aching. You can make a strong and concentrated caffeine mix:

- double-shot espresso, brew with 8oz water, 15gm espresso beans
- 4oz half-and-half or 8z whole milk
- 2 tablespoons sugar

Mix all in 16oz water-bottle, drink entire bottle during time-frame of 15-minutes before ride to 15-minutes into ride. Side effects include upset stomachs, cramps, vomitting, diarrhea, dehydration if taken too soon before the ride (might try starting it only after ride has started), loss of motor-control due to jittery nerves (you can tell who's hopped-up at the start-line, their legs are twitching uncontrollably and they can barely stand up ;) ).

ibuprofen and other NSAID compounds work on the recovery phase. Reduces muscle-cramping and aches. Potentially can help you get out the next day to do another hard workout for faster improvement rates. But unless you're at the level where you're working out every single day and find that you haven't recovered sufficiently, it may not have that much of an effect. Some think it may actually hinder muscle-growth and development due to supression of muscle-building signalling by the inflamatory compounds. Side-effects are kidney failures, hemophilia, heart-attacks.

high-altitude and heat training has similar effects to blood-doping and EPO wih increasing red-blood cell count. Take 2-4 weeks at altitude gradually climbing higher an higher with resting at a higher base-camp each day. Get up to 10,000ft within a week and spend the next couple weeks doing sprints, intervals, hillclimbs at altitude. Then come down and train in +100-F temperatures for 2-4 weeks. Side-effects include altitude sickness or AMS, blood-clots, dehydration, heat-exhaustion/stroke, heart-attacks.


Some articles a teammate wrote:
Confessions of an Un-Doper 1 (http://www.dailypeloton.com/displayarticle.asp?pk=6072)
Confessions of an Un-Doper 2 (http://www.dailypeloton.com/displayarticle.asp?pk=6084)
Confessions of an Un-Doper 3 (http://www.dailypeloton.com/displayarticle.asp?pk=6118)

The supplements in my diet are:

multi-vitamin
EFA (fish and flaxseed)
alpha lipoic acid
acetyl-L-carnitine HCL
glucosamine/chondroitin
extra calcium

NSAIDs
2 x 81 mg/day of enteric safety coated aspirin

Stimulants
caffeine

Some more:

colostrum is a component in human milk for the 1st day or two after birth. It contains growth-factors like IGF-1. Studies using colostrum intake (made from cow's milk) versus whey-protein intake showed much more gain in lean-muscle with the same resistance training. Sprinting performance was also improved.

Ma Huang (ephedra) is a nervous-system stimulant similar to adrenaline. Man-made form ephedrine and pseudoephedrine is found in nasal decongestants and allergy medication. Increases mental alertness and wards off physical fatigue. Also has a glycogen-sparing effect and increases fat-burning rate. Side-effects include: tachycardia, paranoid psychosis, depression, coma, fever, vomiting, palpitations, convulsions, heart attack, hypertension, stroke, respiratory depression. [it's banned, but you can still get it..]

HMB - beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyric acid is the result of leucine released from the muscles due to tears and damage from exertion. HMB supplements have been shown to give higher increase in lean muscle-mass under same exercise regimen. Might even reduce muscle-destruction for fuel when you're low on glycogen.

sodium citrate has similar effect to bicarbonate with higher total and peak power outputs. Especially in short 2-4 minute durations. This is linked to the more buffered pH level in the muscle-cells.

creatine is converted to phosphocreatine in the body. This is a purely anaerobic fuel for 100% max-effort exertions. Enhances performance for efforts of less than 10-seconds. While it may not help actual on-bike performance that much, it can help enhance training efforts. Such as doing more intense sprints, and more of them in a single day. Will also help with strength-exercises like weight-lifting in the gym; allowing you to lift higher weights and more sets.



Here's some articles of interest:

University of Florida - Coffee and Cycling Performance (http://www.hhp.ufl.edu/keepingfit/ARTICLE/COFFEECYCLE.HTM)
Cycling Performance - Caffeine (http://www.cptips.com/caff.htm)
Journal of Applied Physiology - Effect of a divided caffeine dose on endurance cycling performance (http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/94/4/1557)
Outside Mag. - Drug Test (http://outside.away.com/outside/bodywork/200311/200311_drug_test_1.html) (history)
Institute of Medicine - Potential Performance-Enhancing Food Components (http://www.nap.edu/books/030905088X/html/221.html)
Cycling Federations to Ban Soda (http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s6i2572)

I had a case of slight anemia (35% hematocrite instead of my normal 42%-44%) once after a period of overly intense riding. Doctor recommended me to take some iron tablets and some magnesium tablets for a short period of time. Other than that, just sirop in my water bottles.

Ma Huang (ephedra) is a nervous-system stimulant similar to adrenaline. Man-made from ephedrine and pseudoephedrine is found in nasal decongestants and allergy medication. Increases mental alertness and wards off physical fatigue. Also has a glycogen-sparing effect and increases fat-burning rate. Side-effects include: tachycardia, paranoid psychosis, depression, coma, fever, vomiting, palpitations, convulsions, heart attack, hypertension, stroke, respiratory depression. [it's banned, but you can still get it..]


The naturally occurring Ephedra (Ma Huang herb) contains many alkaloid compounds and is what is banned in many places including the United States. The salt (HCL) versions known as ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, as stated are found in bronchial medications to treat asthma and cold medications, respectively. Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine is not banned in the United States.

HGH among others, EPO , I don't touch caffeine.

i generally don't want to pay for supplements (they get pretty expensive) and i don't feel like i need anything. if anything my diet could be a little better - that would give me more bang for the buck right now. this spring when i start to gear up for races, i'll probably take a little whey protein after hard training sessions. i eat a lot of clif bars however, which is probably more food, but i kinda think of it as a supplement too.

multi-vitamin

B - complex vitamins

zinc

selenium

flaxseeds

Emergen-C (powdered vitamin C when I start to feel a cold)

green tea

viactiv (calcium)

Ultra low iron multivitamin (Costco Forte Seniors)
4,000mg fish oil capsules
200mg CoQ10
500mg-1000mg Glucosamine
81mg x 2 coated ASA
1200micorgrams B12

The naturally occurring Ephedra (Ma Huang herb) contains many alkaloid compounds and is what is banned in many places including the United States. The salt (HCL) versions known as ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, as stated are found in bronchial medications to treat asthma and cold medications, respectively. Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine is not banned in the United States.Yup, available in limited amounts around here. Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are used in methamphetamine production and so its supply is tightly controlled by vendors in my area. It's kept behind the counter at the pharmacy and you have to ask for it. Then they will only give you the little boxes with 4-8 little pills on a card for a grand total of 24 tables! Grrr... I want the bottles of 100 or 200 that I used to get... grrr... damn meth druggies are messing it up for the rest of us! :eek:

ok, I am ready for a serious reply, I do use caffeine for some workouts, it does work for energy.
I use l-glutamine.
I use whey protein.
I use multivitamins.
And vitamin E and B

I do weights as well, but if I only do a ride I still use the supplements.

twin labs super twin 1 a day

now! calcium citrate with a all the other bone building stuff in it 5 a day

now! glucosamine chondroiton and msm 1 a day


calcium citrate is the easiest to absorb calcium. NOW! uses the best ingredients AFAICT. the twin labs super twin has everything coated to where the things that don't interact well with each other are released at different times.

plus it's all pretty cheap.

Multi-Vitamin
Colostrum Plus
Pro-Biotic / PB8
Calcium
Udo's Choice - Essential Fatty Acids - Omega 3-6-9
glucosamine/chondroiton
Complex Amino and l-glutamine to help w/ recovery

Centrum and coffee

I use the following....

Advocare MNS Platinum: 30 minutes before breakfast, 30 minutes before lunch and two packets with a meal...

Since I started taking the MNS, I've had much more energy, better endurance, much less fatigue and been sleeping better. Core nutrition.

An hour before workouts I take the following products:

Advocare "Muscle Strength" (HMB, Suma, Green Tea, Moomiyo & Ashwagandha)
Advocare "O2 Gold" (Moomiyo, Golden root, Eleuthero root, Inosine, Enzyme-hydrolyzed peptides)
Advocare "Catalyst" (L-Glutamine, L-Leucine, L-Isoleucine, L-Valine, L-Arginine, Betaine & Taurine)

And before bed:

Advocare "Nighttime Recovery"

This whole system seems to supercharge my metabolism, gives me lots of endurance and I have noticed MAJOR physiological changes in my body, when compared to no or little supplementation. Also, I log a fair amount of mileage (rode nearly 1,500 miles in two months) and the "Nighttime Recovery" probably made the biggest difference I could actually "feel". Especially on sprint days, hill intervals or longer distances, the next day I felt good enough to go again when I'd take 4-5 tablets. When I would forget to take them, I'd have much more soreness & tightness, sometimes even having to take a day or two off.

While my supplementation is rather expensive, I feel it keeps me going at my peak and when I forget to use my regimen, I really notice a big difference in the way I feel on and off the bike.

Clean water, often. Accelerade during and before training, racing. Endurox 15 minutes after. Sleep. Adequate love, work, play. Meditation. Faith and positive attitude. Five minutes per day of doing absolutely nothing, scheduled in. Organic as much as possible, with lean protein, complex carbs and good fats in the right amounts.

Multivitamin/mineral
hawthorn berry (controls my HBP)
alpha-lipoic acid
huperzine-A
acetyl-L-carnitine
creatine HCl (cycled)
EPA-DHA (fish oil)
gamma-linoleic acid
saw palmetto berry
pumpkin seeds (the green ones)
glucosamine sulfate
MSM
chondroitin sulfate
chromium picolinate
bilberry juice
Coenzyme Q10
cranberries and juice
garlic
melatonin (0.5 mg) nightly
SAM-e (for osteoarthritis)
milk thistle
black elderberry syrup
bromelain
BCAA (on occasion)
L-glutaine (on occasion)
whey protein (I like Solgar chocolate)
sea salt
cacao
astragalus
rhodiola
American larch
acidophilus
gingko biloba (for altitude)
pseudephedrine HCl
bicarbonate
Siberian ginseng (on occasion)

No: milk, soy, gluten, peanuts, black pepper, orange juice, coffee (I miss it, though!)

I like lining my nostrils with triple antibiotic gel in wintertime, and bag balm on the hands does the trick in dry weather.

Multi vitamin (Centrum)

Fish Oil

Fibercon

Advil after a hard ride

NO STIMULANTS at my age, caffeine is high risk since it shrinks blood vessels.

Every day:

multi vit

Ginko (for tinnitus)

Occasionally when diet or strenous exercise warrants:

whey protein

L-glutamine

I usually drink a coke before a training session for the caffeine.

Az

Fish oil capsules
Liquid glucosamine/chondroitin
Mature Multi vitamins
Recovery drink is whey protein mixed in 1% milk

Multi-vitamin

B12

Cytomax during and after a long ride

Multi-Vitamin

glucosamine/chondroiton/MSM

1 flintstones
1 b-complex 100
1 vitamin c 1000
1 vitamin a 10,000
1 vitamin e 4000
1 calcium 1000

1 calcium chewed before hard efforts

nsaids as needed (rare)

glucosamine as needed

gatorade or coke during ride every 15 minutes

whey protein right after indoor spinervals

whey protein right before bedtime

hammer whey protein
hammer e-caps
hammer heed
nature made cod liver oil w. vitamin d
advil

not everyday, but when appropriate

NOW Special Two multi vitamin
Jarrow Muscle Optimeal protein drink

I work in a health food store, so I can get this stuff cheap.

As far as Ma Huang goes, we still sell it, just not for weight loss as it was sold for up until it was banned. It is in a product by Karuna called AllerEze marketed to folks with allergies.

ZX Man...Do you think advocare might "stop working" after a while.
I have use MSN Plat for years and lately feel like I might need to switch it up?

I never used Nighttime though. Going to check it out!

I think Advocare is a great product. All I add is green tea and calcium.

Thanks!

Right now I'm only taking multi-vitamins and eating balance bars. Try to get everything else naturally.

I eat low-fat vegetarian, so I supplement according to my diet. Don't need A, B or C; as they are very prevalent in diet.

Vitamin E
Flax Oil
Glucosamine/Chondroitin/MSM
Cholest-Off (What can I say? It runs in the family. But it beats taking the prescription Statins).

I have been using this stuff - http://www.recover-ease.com/

It seems to work, but I need to use it a little more and compare to a recovery without taking it.

Endurox R4 (recovery)
Some sort of sport drink during any exercise longer than an hour (Accerlade's sweetness is starting to get to me - so I'm going to experiment this month...)
Fiber supplement (pill form)
Multivitamin
Iron supplement (lately my blood count has been low, doc is watching it)
Synthetic thyroid (I'm hypothyroid)

Eat a low fat, whole foods diet, easy on the meat, high on the veggies. Lots of whole grain pasta, breads.

Multi-vitamin
Fish Oil Gel capsule
82 mg aspirin
1250 mg garlic pill

Clean water, often. Accelerade during and before training, racing. Endurox 15 minutes after. Sleep. Adequate love, work, play. Meditation. Faith and positive attitude. Five minutes per day of doing absolutely nothing, scheduled in. Organic as much as possible, with lean protein, complex carbs and good fats in the right amounts.

Multivitamin/mineral
hawthorn berry (controls my HBP)
alpha-lipoic acid
huperzine-A
acetyl-L-carnitine
creatine HCl (cycled)
EPA-DHA (fish oil)
gamma-linoleic acid
saw palmetto berry
pumpkin seeds (the green ones)
glucosamine sulfate
MSM
chondroitin sulfate
chromium picolinate
bilberry juice
Coenzyme Q10
cranberries and juice
garlic
melatonin (0.5 mg) nightly
SAM-e (for osteoarthritis)
milk thistle
black elderberry syrup
bromelain
BCAA (on occasion)
L-glutaine (on occasion)
whey protein (I like Solgar chocolate)
sea salt
cacao
astragalus
rhodiola
American larch
acidophilus
gingko biloba (for altitude)
pseudephedrine HCl
bicarbonate
Siberian ginseng (on occasion)

No: milk, soy, gluten, peanuts, black pepper, orange juice, coffee (I miss it, though!)

I like lining my nostrils with triple antibiotic gel in wintertime, and bag balm on the hands does the trick in dry weather.
Any info on what some of this stuff does?

Anyone have any actual experience taking Colostrum? I'm very interested in this, I'm thinking about picking up a bottle at GNC today.

Supps. I have taken -
Multivitamins
Creatine
Creatine+NO2 Mixture
Whey Protein
Caffeine (religiously)
Muscle Milk
Animal Pak

I had great experiences with all of them, can't say any of them would do much for cycling besides whey, caffeine and the multivitamin. Animal Pak might work well for randoneurring or double century rides, where there is an incredibly extreme effort put forth.

I take One-A-Day multi-vitamin w/ Lycopene, and also a Garlic supplement. It seems to help with my cholesterol, even though my Doc told me it does nothing. My cholesterol did drop significantly in the last few years though, so I still continue to take it.

That's it.

Some more:

colostrum is a component in human milk for the 1st day or two after birth. It contains growth-factors like IGF-1. Studies using colostrum intake (made from cow's milk) versus whey-protein intake showed much more gain in lean-muscle with the same resistance training. Sprinting performance was also improved.

Ma Huang (ephedra) is a nervous-system stimulant similar to adrenaline. Man-made form ephedrine and pseudoephedrine is found in nasal decongestants and allergy medication. Increases mental alertness and wards off physical fatigue. Also has a glycogen-sparing effect and increases fat-burning rate. Side-effects include: tachycardia, paranoid psychosis, depression, coma, fever, vomiting, palpitations, convulsions, heart attack, hypertension, stroke, respiratory depression. [it's banned, but you can still get it..]

HMB - beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyric acid is the result of leucine released from the muscles due to tears and damage from exertion. HMB supplements have been shown to give higher increase in lean muscle-mass under same exercise regimen. Might even reduce muscle-destruction for fuel when you're low on glycogen.

sodium citrate has similar effect to bicarbonate with higher total and peak power outputs. Especially in short 2-4 minute durations. This is linked to the more buffered pH level in the muscle-cells.

creatine is converted to phosphocreatine in the body. This is a purely anaerobic fuel for 100% max-effort exertions. Enhances performance for efforts of less than 10-seconds. While it may not help actual on-bike performance that much, it can help enhance training efforts. Such as doing more intense sprints, and more of them in a single day. Will also help with strength-exercises like weight-lifting in the gym; allowing you to lift higher weights and more sets.



Here's some articles of interest:

University of Florida - Coffee and Cycling Performance (http://www.hhp.ufl.edu/keepingfit/ARTICLE/COFFEECYCLE.HTM)
Cycling Performance - Caffeine (http://www.cptips.com/caff.htm)
Journal of Applied Physiology - Effect of a divided caffeine dose on endurance cycling performance (http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/94/4/1557)
Outside Mag. - Drug Test (http://outside.away.com/outside/bodywork/200311/200311_drug_test_1.html) (history)
Institute of Medicine - Potential Performance-Enhancing Food Components (http://www.nap.edu/books/030905088X/html/221.html)
Cycling Federations to Ban Soda (http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s6i2572)


.....doesn't creatine shrink your balls?

Muscle Milk
Uri-Flow (for kidney stones)
Last year 152 pounds (12.5% BFR)
This year 132 pounds (9.25% BFR)

Mega Men (2 per day)

Body Fortress Whey after a hard ride

I take the following: LowOz, QuadPlex, Power Generation and Myocap. Fantastic!
Check out his link for what others are saying:
http://www.xxtrafitness.com

I also take Omega Life3 Fish Oil, Multi Vitamin/Mineral/Nutrient supplement;Immunizen(contains colostrum); Calcium-Magnesium Complex;D-Glucarate; Herbal Voltage, among others.

La Chica
#11564702

Here is a list of mine.

Glucosamine (6 a day)
Potassium (2 a day)
DSF (http://www.totalsupplement.net/shop/index.php?shop=1&itemid=16) (stress) (3 a day)
Total Inflam (http://www.totalsupplement.net/shop/?shop=1&cart=129391&match_criteria=&rec=&keywords=total+inflam&) (3 a day)
EP-NO (http://www.ep-no.com/) (3 a day)
Whey Protein

Pie...

Here's my daily routine...

Vitamins/Supplements


Centrum Multi-vitamin
2,000mg Flax Seed
2,000mg Cod Liver Oil
Vitamin B12 (vegetarian)


Food

1/2 cup Soy nuts (lightly salted
1 cup Soy milk (w/ coffee, cereal)
1 Clif bar
Lots of fresh water

Clean water, often. Accelerade during and before training, racing. Endurox 15 minutes after. Sleep. Adequate love, work, play. Meditation. Faith and positive attitude. Five minutes per day of doing absolutely nothing, scheduled in. Organic as much as possible, with lean protein, complex carbs and good fats in the right amounts.

Multivitamin/mineral
hawthorn berry (controls my HBP)
alpha-lipoic acid
huperzine-A
acetyl-L-carnitine
creatine HCl (cycled)
EPA-DHA (fish oil)
gamma-linoleic acid
saw palmetto berry
pumpkin seeds (the green ones)
glucosamine sulfate
MSM
chondroitin sulfate
chromium picolinate
bilberry juice
Coenzyme Q10
cranberries and juice
garlic
melatonin (0.5 mg) nightly
SAM-e (for osteoarthritis)
milk thistle
black elderberry syrup
bromelain
BCAA (on occasion)
L-glutaine (on occasion)
whey protein (I like Solgar chocolate)
sea salt
cacao
astragalus
rhodiola
American larch
acidophilus
gingko biloba (for altitude)
pseudephedrine HCl
bicarbonate
Siberian ginseng (on occasion)

No: milk, soy, gluten, peanuts, black pepper, orange juice, coffee (I miss it, though!)

I like lining my nostrils with triple antibiotic gel in wintertime, and bag balm on the hands does the trick in dry weather.


Wow. You cannot be serious. All of this?

I suggest you give up this laundry list and replace it with one thing: Prozac. ;)

Can someone tell me what fish oil is supposed to do? I see it on a lot of pple's lists.

Vemma = Vitiamins, Essential Minerals, Mangosteen and Aloe
It's a Liquid Nutritional Program that is all natural and plant derived.
for more info go to www.myvemma.com/unbent


Andy

Can someone tell me what fish oil is supposed to do? I see it on a lot of pple's lists.

www.google.com
You'll find more than someone can put in a post here.

Can someone tell me what fish oil is supposed to do? I see it on a lot of pple's lists.

It contains some very useful fats, Essential Fatty Acids, EFA's. Eating fish will cover it too, especially cold water fish like salmon and cod.

Can someone tell me what fish oil
is supposed to do?

It contains some very useful fats, Essential Fatty Acids, EFA's. Eating fish will cover it too, especially cold water fish like salmon and cod.

The fish oil contains omega 3 essential
fatty acids. It also is know to increase
HDL, the GOOD cholesterol. While I
have excellent LDL/HDL ratios, I take
it to boost my HDL a bit.

It is about the only FAT I get everyday
in that I live on whey protein skim milk
shakes. So I take 6 -10 grams of fish oil
per day so that ALL my fat intake is the
healthy good stuff.

GNC 100% Whey Protein - Just like eating a bunch of chicken or steak, but with no fat and less calories. Works well for me, just mix with 8-12 ozs of water after a ride. Helps body recover and helps gain muscle.

I'm a powerlifter myself and actually don't even have a bike yet, but I've been taking supplements and lifting hard for the past 4-5 years. Though most of the stuff wouldn't really help a cycler, the best thing I can think of would be a product by MAN called Body Octane. It contains a compound called citrulline malate which is an excellent lactic acid buffer, it helps a lot in high rep lifting, and I'm sure it could do wonders on a hard ride. You can find it at online retailers for around 45 bucks which I know seems expensive, but with 50 servings per bottle it'll last a while. half a serving or 1 serving before the ride and another half serving to full serve during it should yeild excellent results.

The fish oil contains omega 3 essential
fatty acids. It also is know to increase
HDL, the GOOD cholesterol. While I
have excellent LDL/HDL ratios, I take
it to boost my HDL a bit.

It is about the only FAT I get everyday
in that I live on whey protein skim milk
shakes.

You miss out on some good stuff with only whey protein. Some eggs and red meat once in awhile at least is good insurance for higher amounts of certain aminos, creatine, and hemiron. Even a semi-veg will have a hard time turning down the marinated Harris Ranch tri-tip roasts found in stores!