I’ve long been a fan of supplementation, especially in my earliest days of lifting weights in an effort to grow like the bodybuilders in Muscle and Fitness and FLEX magazines which I subscribed to and read with regularity. Sure, I was naive, but let’s face it, the magazines weren’t forthright in their presentation and never told their faithful readers that these guys and gals were juiced to the gills with drugs and that I’d never, ever, look like them. So I took pills and powders and was diligent in my efforts.
Over the years, I’ve dropped most of the stuff from my regimen as the age of easily obtainable evidence blossomed and turned us all into pseudo peer reviewers of scientific papers. I look at supplements now as the tiny grains of sand one can fill their jar with after you’ve jammed all the big rocks, little rocks and pebbles in there and are just looking to fill the jar to the brim.
I break supplements down into two categories: health and performance. For my health, I ensure I take Omega-3’s because I don’t get anywhere near enough from my diet. I take various vitamins and minerals as I wrote about here, to ensure I meet my requirements. That about covers it from the health point of view. When it comes to performance, for a while I stuck with just creatine and some pre-workout caffeine. During my COVID training with bands and body weight, I added beta-alanine and I can honestly say it definitely worked and worked well. High rep training creates a burning in the muscles from metabolites, and beta-alanine raises carnosine levels in the muscle cells which acts as a buffer to prevent the acidic results of high rep training. It wasn’t more than a week or so of supplementation when I noticed I was churning out reps without the fatiguing sensations and burning which would cut the sets short. Thumbs up for the beta.
Next were some studies I read about the increased response to muscle protein synthesis from being in the higher range of normal for testosterone. I have a long history of trying testosterone boosting supplements, and most don’t work. When I say they don’t work, I should clarify; the results aren’t noticeable. Boosting your testosterone levels from somewhere in the normal range to slightly higher in the normal range has no tangible benefits. But as a 57-year old male, chances are I’m not producing the amount I did in my youth (I actually got tested yesterday, so I’ll soon know all). So I got Examine’s testosterone guide and added DHEA and Boron to my supplement list.
When I decided to venture back into powerlifting, I considered some other supplements that may aid in performance. I picked up some citrulline, the often maligned BCAA’s and the possibly helpful D-AA. Since I was all up in it now, I got some herbals too that might help; specifically ashwaghanda and coleus forskohlil. Finally done (or so I thought), I heard Greg and Eric of Stronger by Science fame discussing collagen and its benefits on joint, tendon and ligament health. I considered it briefly, but passed until I heard it again from Lyle McDonald. I’ve had lots of tweaks, aches and pains over the years, but the most persistent and recurring injuries have been tendonopathy in the elbows and shoulders. If collagen really works and could help, I’m all about it. So after a little research, I bought some hydrolyzed collagen too.
You know you’re taking a lot of supplements when you have to actually write out a schedule of what to take, how much and when. That’s what I’ve done to ensure I get it right and don’t rely on my memory every day. I make no recommendations or suggestions to anyone, but I can say that if you’re still putting rocks in your jar, don’t bother with supplements. If you’re smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol and go around the COVID-infested world without a mask, creatine is the least of your worries.
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