I find the pre workout supplements entirely unnecessary. Had massive gains and I'm in the double bodyweight or higher lifting group. There are much better options imo, shilajit (85+ minerals) and cordyceps (adrenalin support for strenuous exercise) for example. I would wager those two are just as efficacious, are real ie not synthetics and are cheaper. I think the reasonable time to take those synthetic supplements is when you're a pro athlete and need to get from 6 to 5% bodyfat.
I've never heard of those two options. So I googled and found that Shilajit is that thick tar like substance and cordyceps is some kind of fungus. Is that what you're talking about taking? Not saying it wouldn't work, but how do you take this stuff?
When I first started going to the gym, I was never told about taking pre workout supplements like the Man Sports stuff I'm taking now. All I took back than was creatine and that was it.
Not sure why I decided to get into taking these supplements stuff now but its probably due to that fact that its been hyped up by fitness people who are decently well recognized around the world and that I probably got suckered into taking it.
The supplement industry is a huge scam. The vast majority of spokespeople are on a special kind of supplements that aren't legal and require injections. People see their gains and think they can emulate them with protein powders.
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I've never heard of those two options. So I googled and found that Shilajit is that thick tar like substance and cordyceps is some kind of fungus. Is that what you're talking about taking? Not saying it wouldn't work, but how do you take this stuff?
Cordyceps are mushrooms, they come in pill form. Shilajit comes in powder form, I put it in my smoothies. Makes you feel like a mountain as it essentially is part of a mountain.
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My issue is just with the immediacy before a workout that you need to take in protein and BCAA supplements and whether they have any efficacy as a "pre-workout".
BCAA are just a category of amino-acids that we get from our regular foods. This particular category of amino acids has been proven to increase muscle recovery, which makes sense as they are a key component in our muscle tissues.
However, BCAA intake does not help athletic performance:
Also, amino acid and protein metabolism does not work the same way as sugar metabolism. They don't enter our blood stream and metabolic processes as quickly. When you workout you also substantially shut downs your digestive processes.
In my opinion a lot of this "pre-workout" stuff is just a marketing gimic by the supplement companies. The scientific literature supports the use of BCAA intake as a recovery tool, but it doesn't state that you need to take it immediately before a workout. The only way to take it immediately before a workout is to take a relatively expensive "pre-workout" shake. There's been a jump between the scientific research and what supplement producers are marketing.
Maybe the energy claims in the product I ordered stem from the 200mgs of magnesium and the B vitamins in a serving. Ah well. They already shipped it and I can eat the cost. Placebo perhaps for the win.
Maybe the energy claims in the product I ordered stem from the 200mgs of magnesium and the B vitamins in a serving. Ah well. They already shipped it and I can eat the cost. Placebo perhaps for the win.
BCAAs are still good for you. They have been scientifically proven to help with recovery.
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I have to get this off my chest, I have a buddy who says his legs are big enough and thinks he doesn't need to do legs what would you all say to that? I think it's a total joke as he's just avoiding having to do Legs and just work on his upper body.
Your legs can never be too big lol. Your biggest muscles are below the belt, so why would someone want to ignore them. If anything, they should be trained more often.
Having strong legs is important if you want to improve on compound exercises like deadlifts and squats. Doing compound exercises will improve your physique, burn calories and increase your strength, a lot more than isolation exercises.
Your legs can never be too big lol. Your biggest muscles are below the belt, so why would someone want to ignore them. If anything, they should be trained more often.
Having strong legs is important if you want to improve on compound exercises like deadlifts and squats. Doing compound exercises will improve your physique, burn calories and increase your strength, a lot more than isolation exercises.
It's also important for punching power as most of your power comes from your hips/core when you punch.
It's taken ~14 months of walking, weights/calisthenics, but mostly better eating/reasonable calorie restrictions, and today I hit the 40lb drop when I was weighed.
I don't think I look like I lost weight (except for maybe my face/neck a bit), but I can tell I'm a lot more solid. And I feel generally better all around, and that's really what matters to me.
Funnily, I recall it took about 14 months to gain ~40lbs a few years ago when my life started to circle the drain.
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It's taken ~14 months of walking, weights/calisthenics, but mostly better eating/reasonable calorie restrictions, and today I hit the 40lb drop when I was weighed.
I don't think I look like I lost weight (except for maybe my face/neck a bit), but I can tell I'm a lot more solid. And I feel generally better all around, and that's really what matters to me.
Funnily, I recall it took about 14 months to gain ~40lbs a few years ago when my life started to circle the drain.
Keep at it man , the only person you need to satisfy is yourself! Once you get into a routine and you change your lifestyle, it gets addictive and you want to continue your progress.
Don't most people just skip leg day because it's too hard? Squats are one of the most taxing exercises there is and a lot of guys I see in the gym simply just don't want to work that hard. I used to do be like that myself, only doing them every other week or so but now, it's my favorite exercise. I have the advantage of being on the shorter side, though. I think tall guys have a lot more problems with them.
Am I the only one that likes the Beta Alanine burn? I've been using a stack of Mr Hyde and Dr Jekyll pre-workout. Just tons of caffeine and that burning pins and needles feeling I've grown to associate with a workout.
Don't most people just skip leg day because it's too hard? Squats are one of the most taxing exercises there is and a lot of guys I see in the gym simply just don't want to work that hard. I used to do be like that myself, only doing them every other week or so but now, it's my favorite exercise. I have the advantage of being on the shorter side, though. I think tall guys have a lot more problems with them.
It's the form usually. There's a lot of pain for most people because most of them do it wrong so it gets avoided. It's not even that taxing if you don't use much weight.
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Don't most people just skip leg day because it's too hard? Squats are one of the most taxing exercises there is and a lot of guys I see in the gym simply just don't want to work that hard. I used to do be like that myself, only doing them every other week or so but now, it's my favorite exercise. I have the advantage of being on the shorter side, though. I think tall guys have a lot more problems with them.
I'm a shorter dude too and love doing squats, but really working on form and trying to do a** to grass, but my mobility isn't quite there yet. My squat is definitely on the weaker side, but like anything, just need to keep practicing to get better and do more weight.
The other reason IMO that guys skip leg day is because you don't get to show them off like the guns or having wide shoulders.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LGA
Am I the only one that likes the Beta Alanine burn?
I'm with you, I love that burn! It really gets me amped up and ready to go. The worst is being stuck in traffic and you start getting the tingles lol, since I like to take my pre during my drive to the gym.
There is no way to get around legs being the most difficult work out... and you will probably be dealing with some delayed muscle soreness after leg work outs no matter how many years you have been working out.
A big problem though is the amount of weight people try to squat and the belief that every set needs to be to failure. I am not advocating easy leg work outs by any means, but rather full and controlled range of motion. Going to failure on every set of every work out is incredibly taxing on the nervous system and is a big factor in getting worn out at the gym imo. While this doesn't seem to be as grueling with upper body workouts, a leg workout loaded with failure sets is going to leave you hating them.
Proper squat form is really, REALLY important. I see a lot of guys (I used to be one) that would load up 300lbs on a smith machine and squat half your range of motion. Totally useless. The smith machine allows you to cheat, and the short range of motion doesn't completely engage your core and hamstrings.
This pretty much sums up how I've been taught to squat, Chest up, hips back, sit in a chair, drive up from the heels. It's a lot of hamstring and low back, not just glutes and quads.
People don't do squats because they are incredibly hard to do properly, and take a looooong time to build up to a heavy weight. Why do that when you can do bench press 3 times a week, and wear pants to cover your chicken legs?
I'm not convinced that most girls care for really big anything. pretty sure the main underlying reason for getting jacked is so that you can measure yourself up to other jacked dudes. nothing wrong with that, just my opinion that getting huge for the sole purpose of achieving women is probably inefficient for the amount of time, money and effort put in.
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Thank you for everything CP. Good memories and thankful for everything that has been done to help me out. I will no longer take part on these boards. Take care, Go Flames Go.
Don't most people just skip leg day because it's too hard? Squats are one of the most taxing exercises there is and a lot of guys I see in the gym simply just don't want to work that hard. I used to do be like that myself, only doing them every other week or so but now, it's my favorite exercise. I have the advantage of being on the shorter side, though. I think tall guys have a lot more problems with them.
A lot of guys I've talked to don't like doing legs because it hurts. Most muscles don't start really hurting while you're working out until just before failure. Legs start hurting looong before you actually reach failure. Anyone who has done 20 rep squat sets will tell you that you can keep going long after the pain starts. A lot of guys just don't have the mental fortitude to tough it out through a hard leg workout
