I'm doing my homework and trying to get ready to start my own get in shape program. I really like what John has done and plan to emulate many of the nutrition and exercies programs. However, I would like to get some better explanation for why some of the supplements are used.

What does the Glutamine do for you? What is the guideline for how much to take and how often? Are there optimum times to take it?

Why is the Konsyl "Sugar-Free Psyllium Fiber" important? What is the guideline for how much to take and how often? Are there optimum times to take it?

Why take a 81mg aspirin before a workout?

I understand the use of Glucosamine Complex/Chrondroitin Sulfate, but when is the best time to take it? or maybe it doesn't matter.

Is creatine recommended during a fat loss phase - or just once you are bulking?

Thanks!

Jeff

L-Glutamine, amino acid that boosts muscle recovery/prevents muscle breakdown. My personal recommendation for glutamine use would be 5g when you wake up, 5g after a workout, and 5g's before bed if you're cutting, and 5-10 grams after a workout if you're just lifting to bulk up.

Sugar Free Psyllium cleans out your digestive tract, helping you abosrb more nutrients from the foods you eat. Plus all the other benefits that fiber has for your cholesterol and that deal. Sugar free, well, because there's no need to add any more sugar to your diet then you have to.

Not exactly sure about the aspirin. I believe there's a stack of aspirin and caffeine/other stimulants which is pretty popular, and that its taken to help the "pump" while lifting

Optimally, you'd take glucosamine and chrondroitin 3 times evenly spread throughout the day, as the supplement is rather difficult for your body to absorb.

There's actually a thread(s) in the fatloss section that answer all of these questons more specifically.

in bold below

I'm doing my homework and trying to get ready to start my own get in shape program. I really like what John has done and plan to emulate many of the nutrition and exercies programs. However, I would like to get some better explanation for why some of the supplements are used.

What does the Glutamine do for you? What is the guideline for how much to take and how often? Are there optimum times to take it?

glutamine is an excellent product, one i use and stand by. glutamine is known to enhance the muscle building process. it encourages and promotes protein synsesis. this being said, its best to take after a workout or intense exercise. 5g a day is plenty. it is vital to organs and helps boost your immune system. many people say if your sick or have the flu, taking 5-10g of glutamine during this period will speed up recovery (never tried this myself though).. i think glutamine has helped me from getting sick in the first place :)

as far as muscle is concerned, gluatmine is known as a "cell volumizer", what this means is it increases the size of cells within a muscle, turning on anabolism (growth) and turning of catabolism (breakdown) which helps your body from turning lean muscle mass into fuel.

Why is the Konsyl "Sugar-Free Psyllium Fiber" important? What is the guideline for how much to take and how often? Are there optimum times to take it?

i do not know

Why take a 81mg aspirin before a workout?

i dont take aspirin and i see no real need to.. apparently it prevents muscle break down after you workout.. but i see no need to take this.. especially if you take in the proper nutrients, there should be no need to worry about this. as far as i am concerned, the less pills i take, the better.

I understand the use of Glucosamine Complex/Chrondroitin Sulfate, but when is the best time to take it? or maybe it doesn't matter.

i would think taking it 1-2 hrs before lifting weights and after training would be appropriate

Is creatine recommended during a fat loss phase - or just once you are bulking?

creatine is an awsome supplement, i have seen incredible gains since using this product, i HIGHLY recomend this to anyone who weight trains. it doesnt matter if your "bulking" or "cutting".

its also a bit of a cell volumizer. why creatine is so great is because it retains more water in lean muscle tissue, with a bigger cell and more water, the muscle tissue is able to absorb more vital nutrients such as protein and carbs. the more protein and carbs STORED in a muscle will lead to faster recovery, bigger and stronger muscles, not to mention your muscles will have more energy/endurance during the next workout.

i would avoid "the loading phase" as this seems to be nothing but a marketing scam. they've done research and found that people that do the loading phase vs the non loading phase, the end results were the same. the people that loaded got to a certain stage a bit quicker, but hardly a big deal.

creatine is best taken after a workout btw.. usually if you take it when you dont need it, all it does is saturates your muscle.. so you might even feel kinda sick. a friend of mine took creatine before a workout and he felt sick and could hardly workout.. i told him to take it after a workout and immediatly his results improved, not to mention he didnt feel like crap when he worked out
Thanks!

Jeff

One thing to keep in mind is that creatine promotes water retention. Some people are very scale conscious when cutting, so keep that in mind if you take 'normal' creatine.

There are some out there, Swole V2 and S.A.N. V12, that supposedly do not cause you to retain water. I've heard these are excellent products and actually intend to try out the V2 when I cycle creatine back in to my supplements in two weeks.

i was advised by a nutrionist/supplement person that taking glutamine first thing in the morning doesnt do anything..

i forget but i THINK he said it just goes to replacing glycogen

One thing to keep in mind is that creatine promotes water retention. Some people are very scale conscious when cutting, so keep that in mind if you take 'normal' creatine.

There are some out there, Swole V2 and S.A.N. V12, that supposedly do not cause you to retain water. I've heard these are excellent products and actually intend to try out the V2 when I cycle creatine back in to my supplements in two weeks.

yeah, its unfortunate that people juge their progress by the scale.

it's not how it should be done. i weigh myself once a week. if i lose 1lb or so, but i know have added weights and reps to all my exercises, i have lost body fat and have created lean mass.

i use to check the scale everyday.. i would lose weight rapidly, if i didnt like what i saw, id run or do cardio even harder, eat less.. i did weigh less, and it was at the expensive of my muscle.

i use CELL TECH creatine.. i never really feel bloated, maybe slightly after when i take it because i consume 3 cups of water with my protein/glutamine/creatine mix... but i mean i get bloated regardless whenever i pound down 3 cups of water

yeah, its unfortunate that people juge their progress by the scale.

it's not how it should be done. i weigh myself once a week. if i lose 1lb or so, but i know have added weights and reps to all my exercises, i have lost body fat and have created lean mass.

i use to check the scale everyday.. i would lose weight rapidly, if i didnt like what i saw, id run or do cardio even harder, eat less.. i did weigh less, and it was at the expensive of my muscle.

i use CELL TECH creatine.. i never really feel bloated, maybe slightly after when i take it because i consume 3 cups of water with my protein/glutamine/creatine mix... but i mean i get bloated regardless whenever i pound down 3 cups of water

Hey Jono,

Cell-Tech is overpriced bro, they claim its super creatine and the same with the rest of the muscletech products

just thought id say

as i used to use cell-tech and nitrotech

Mark

I feel your pain, map.

I too was once taken in by Muscletech. Cell-tech, while a delicious supplement (and goodness, what drink with that much sugar wouldn't taste great?) is, like you said, overpriced. I received better results for a fraction of the cost by mixing prolab's creatine monohydrate powder with dextrose.

Nitrotech is the most god-awful protein powder I've ever endured. It tastes like what I imagine a barrel of pennies would taste like if melted down. Absolutely horrid. On an interesting side note, Nitrotech actually contains a bit of creatine.

As far as taking creatine before or after a workout goes, I had the best results taking creatine before AND after my workout. I never endured any sickness as a result of pre-workout creatine, and the results were favorable. You should be taking 5g of creatine twice daily when you are not loading, and this method seemed the most appropriate and certainly was the most effective for me.

Muscletech has a pretty brand name known for giving results. The thing about muscletech is that they try to brute force stuff at you, no exactly a finesse company.

If you check out celltech for example, if you followed the directions you' be taking twice as much creatine on the maintenance part as you would normally take on another creatine (10 grams as opposed to 5) Hydroxycut is another good example. If you take a look at how many caps they recommmend taking a day, its roughly around 9 daily, depending on your tolerance, whereas most others are around 4. The actual stimulant content of each pill from every brand is pretty close, muscletech just wants you to suck down more