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The Top 5 Supplements to Take (or Top 3 if you’re on a Budget)

January 29, 2007 by Jimson Lee

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Okay, lets talk about supplements. I don’t believe in becoming a supplement freak like some people I know, but if I had to choose 3 or 5 top supplements, here they are (in order) and I can provide URLs to reference my arguments:

1) ZMA before bedtime. It’s simply just zinc, magnesium, and Vitamin B6. It helps increase the natural testosterone levels, as well as provide a deeper sleep. When you sleep 6 hours a night being a new Dad like me, the quality of sleep is important!

2) Protein and L-Glutamine shake (and cut *some* of the carbs in your diet, especially processed foods or foods that come with a “label” like pastries or chocolate bars). You body will need extra protein to repair itself anyways, you might as well feed it with the right stuff. Any whey protein is good, but if you want to customize it, try proteinfactory.com and order different blends of whey/whey isolates, casein, and egg protein. If you are going to supplement it with L-Glutamine, add 5g to every 30-50g protein.

2b) Post-workout Recovery Drink. This is usually a combination of protein & Carbs (from 1:1 ratios, to 4:1 carb:prot ratios), plus some whey isolates (for immediate absorption), L-Glutamine, and sometimes creatine. SNAC’s Proglycosyn is great (in powder form, requires mixing) or Go! Sports Energy/Recovery shakes (requires no refrigeration… great to bring to the track or field!)

3) Omega-3 Fatty Acids. The proper balance of fats (especially the omega-3 and omega-6) is important, so if you find yourself eating in restaurants, and the saturated fats are high (O-6) then you will need to supplement with the O-3. There are only 2 food groups that have higher ratios naturally in O-3/O-6 and that’s flax & fish. i.e. Coconut oil is all O-6, for example. So it’s okay to eat some bad fats, just make sure you supplement with the good fats to be in balance. You can buy cheap flax seeds and crush them in your coffee grinder… just make sure you refrigerate it after you crush it, and add it to your oatmeal, cereal, etc.

4) Pre-competition “mental alertness/neurotransmitter” drinks. Tyrosine blocks the release of Tryptophan, which is the amino acid that gives you the sleep feeling, especially halfway in the 400m! Power Drive (Biotest) and Vitalyze (SNAC) are common ones. Both uses Tyrosine as the main formulation. Of course, the drink “Red Bull” contains caffeine and Taurine. “Monster” drink is also good at a fraction of the price of Red Bull.

5) Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) for long workouts over 1 hour in duration. Use with or without extra L-Glutamine. Universal Nutrition makes a half decent powder form which you mix it up with water just before intake (do not pre-mix them, as amino acids can become denatured)

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Written by Jimson Lee · Filed Under Supplements 

Comments

12 Responses to “The Top 5 Supplements to Take (or Top 3 if you’re on a Budget)”

  1. Speedendurance.com » Blog Archive » Random Food Tips Part 1 on May 27th, 2007 9:13 am

    […] Flax seeds. You can buy cheap flax seeds and crush them in your coffee grinder… just make sure you refrigerate it after you crush it, and add it to your oatmeal, cereal, etc. Read about the benefits here. […]

  2. Speedendurance.com » Pre-Competition, Energy, Focus and Mental Alertness Drinks on July 3rd, 2007 4:04 am

    […] I discussed a pre-competition “mental alertness” or “neurotransmitter” drinks in the article The top 5 supplements to take (or top 3 if you’re on a budget) […]

  3. The Benefits of Flax Seed Oil | Speedendurance.com on August 13th, 2007 6:03 am

    […] I mentioned briefly the benefits of Omega 3 fatty acids in this article. […]

  4. sr on September 16th, 2007 7:07 pm

    Does anyone know if the SNAC products have been tested to ncaa standards?

    They are great products but we all know who owns the company.

  5. Speedendurance.com January 2007 Archives « Jimson’s Weblog on October 8th, 2007 6:52 pm

    […] 29: The top 5 supplements to take (or top 3 if you’re on a budget) […]

  6. What supplements to take? - Talk Fitness :: Fitness Community on January 16th, 2008 10:12 am

    […] Today, 01:11 PM Start with this article: The top 5 supplements to take (or top 3 if you’re on a budget) | SpeedEndurance.com […]

  7. Top 10 Supplement Checklist | SpeedEndurance.com on April 7th, 2008 6:40 am

    […] to Social Bookmarking, the article The Top 5 Supplements to Take (or Top 3 if You’re on a Budget) is one of the most popular articles on this […]

  8. Antanas Sleckus on September 1st, 2008 2:59 pm

    Beginners need not concentrate on supplements even though so many are obsessed. Eat healthy, train correctly and if you want to help take some fish oil (high strength) and glucosamine for joints.

    You hear people give all sorts of numbers “This and that much” percentage is all diet but the true matter of the fact is, its mostly training. Get that right and understand it and you’r on the right track.

  9. David on October 25th, 2008 10:51 am

    When you talk about “pre race” supplements. Power drive and “monster” are equivalents? if so i will deffinatly not get either. supplements should be a better quality than a cheap energy drink

  10. Jimson Lee on October 25th, 2008 10:58 am

    @David - You’d be surprised what I’ve witnessed among athletes, and what I’ve seen them drink before a race! RedBull is one of the more common ones.

  11. David on October 25th, 2008 12:09 pm

    i can see how the pump up might be good. but it seems like it’s just all sugary and not that good to drink before a race..

  12. The Easy Simple Whole Foods Diet | SpeedEndurance.com on April 6th, 2009 8:23 pm

    […] of my very first articles on this Blog was the Top 5 supplements to take (or top 3 if you are on a budget). But what about natural wholesome food as supplements? I agree, in a perfect world, everything […]

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